Crimson Tears
by SilverWolfMaiden
Summary: Traitor and Hero, Deserter and Savior- the painful dualities of the shinobi world. An Itachi/OC love thing, rated M for language, violence, implied adult situations, and terrible summaries.
1. Reunion

** AN: **** Okay, so! This is my first time seriously posting fanfiction, and I'm hoping it's not the last, haha. Critique and comments are welcome, I'd love to hear what people think! Pease be gentle. ;w;**

**I will note that this story was written before the remaining six bijuu in Naruto were announced back in 2009, so only Shukaku, Nekomata/Matatabi, and Kyuubi had been confirmed. That being said, I based several of the remaining bijuu off of a few of the "myths" going around, rather than change them all to fit the series, cause I like them better. (Only ones really affected are the 5 & 7 tailed critters.)**

** There is also a small profile made for my oc, Raina, which can be found on my profile.**

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><p>I couldn't move, I couldn't think, all I could do was die where I lay in a pool of cold blood. My legs were burning, my arms felt shredded, the rest of me lie there bludgeoned and bleeding, just waiting for death to claim me. Satoshi's internal organs were resting on his legs, Takeshi's body all but pulled inside out, Tenshi lying motionless beside her fallen comrade. I wasn't sure how long I'd been lying there, life seeping out of my body with each drop of blood I lost. I could see the crows circling, some cawing in the trees, and calling on death to end me already. I wondered to myself; 'Why, why must it end this way? It seemed like just a normal day...And now I'm on my deathbed..We were black ops- the best Konoha had to offer..' I thought back to earlier that morning.<p>

~Flashback~

Another mission today, an extended leave trip to Kirigakure. Takeshi was excited already, that eager little freak, Satoshi hated getting wet, making this trip his own personal hell. I couldn't care less, just another mission with my beloved, idiot team mates. It'd all gone smoothly; the usual morning routine of frantic packing and scrambling to buy additional supplies, the same arguments from Satoshi of Takeshi and his ninken Tenshi, over-packing, being late, being obnoxious.. Well- more like arguing over the fact that they existed, really. We set out through the trees, playful banter and on-the-go target practice occupying most of the morning and afternoon, managing to travel a third of the way there before we settled for the night.

We'd gotten to another clearing in the depths of Fire Country's massive forests, expecting a few animals to scurry away with our arrival, but this time there were enemies in their place. They were, Sound Ninja, the way everything fell deathly quiet as they stalked towards us was entirely unnatural, their broken statures and strange uniforms making them all the more unnerving. They took Takeshi by surprise, gagging and gutting him in an instant, his porcelain mask shattering against a tree as his corpse was blatantly tossed to the edge of the clearing. Tenshi was brutally thrown aside by a blast of what must have been compressed sound, and fell beside his dying body, already lifeless, thin trickles of blood running from her eyes, nose, and ears. Satoshi went next, ganged up on by at least five ninja before he could manage a single hand seal. It happened too fast even for me to do anything; it would have been useless anyway. They were all on me at once, silent, intent on murdering me where I stood. She'd screamed at me to fight, but there was nothing I could do, I was horrified by what had just become of my teammates, my friends. She took over then, slashing at the mass of assailants with fangs and claws, ice and water, a blur of white and blood. I could hear the screams, the laceration of flesh, the snapping of bones, I could only watch my hands spattered with their blood as I danced to her whims, a spectator within my own body. Some got away, only to die on the run, others were ripped to shreds and their remains left to decorate the scene. She left me then, submitting once more and letting me collapse.

~End Flashback~

It was hopeless; nobody would come looking until weeks later, when we were due to return. I couldn't hear the crows anymore, be it my system shutting down- or they'd begun to feast on the others. The world was blurry, going black. Was this really how it was going to end? I hit the point of no return, and everything I had known faded to darkness.

'You will _not_ die here, foolish girl.'

~?'s point of view~

I was passing over a blood spattered clearing in the forest, nothing I didn't expect, crime rates were at a huge spike these days. Kisame shouted, jarring me out of my thoughts to the extent of me almost missing the next branch, damn me for being distracted. We dropped from the trees and fell into a scene I'd seen many times before: Three dead ninja, and a dead dog. The miscellaneous body parts strewn about were new, however. 'Must have put up a good fight..' My foot nudged what appeared to be a severed arm, frowning as the fingers curled inwards- this was a fresh kill. I could see Kisame a ways off, examining a dead.. No, half dead, kunoichi.

"Oi, Itachi.."

"What?"

"We're looking for an Ame kunoichi with silver hair, right?"

"Hai, what about it? Her hair," I growled, pointing my finger in the girl's general direction, "is brown- and she's with Konoha shinobi. Why do you care? We need to stop wasting our time and find her."

"It's so bloody it's dyed brown, baka," he sneered, lifting the mess of her hair, "it's silver underneath."

I walked over to look for myself, and sure enough, it was filthy and caked with dried blood, but it was silver. Though there was a cracked ANBU mask beside her, the ribbon had been cut. It was made in the guise of a dog, two broad, black stripes ran down from the head and over the eyes, ending around the curve of the snout- a strangely particular design for someone who was trained to be faceless. "We'll take her in." I snipped, irate that Kisame was right about something for once in his life. I jumped back to the trees, Kisame close behind. No matter what Pein-sama says, we're forced to comply, no matter how ridiculous the request was. I waited for Kisame to catch up, he was kind of slow with the extra weight, he hefted her limp form over his other shoulder, and it was then that I noticed the girl's face for the first time. I fervently wished I hadn't.

~Next Day~

~Raina's point of view~

'Am I dead yet?' I asked myself, only to be greeted with a harsh reply.

'Of course not! I will never allow you the luxury of death!' Ugh, I really didn't want to deal with bitch right now.

'Burn in hell, mutt, leave me be.' She didn't press the matter further, but she was still growling. I managed to crack my eyes open, hell it was dark... I attempted to sit up, that was a mistake. I was rewarded with several loud, sickeningly audible cracks from my chest. I whimpered and fell back, earning more snaps and crackles. She laughed. 'How many ribs must be fractured to make that much noise?' I groaned, lifting my head to get a quick glance of my surroundings. It was a well sized room; no windows, three doors, and a night stand to the right of the bed I was on. 'Great...kidnapped..' I lifted my arms to see what damage had been done, and it caught me off guard to notice they had been quite neatly bandaged. That was alarming. My chest, legs, and back were neatly covered as well. That meant whoever had dressed the wounds would have to undress me...I heard her snicker as I struggled to withhold a snarl that could have curdled the blood of the dead. I was still fuming and fighting to get a grip when the door nearest the foot of the bed opened. A cloaked figure drifted into the dark room, damn near blending in with the wall behind them, save for the tacky red clouds that were scattered on the black fabric. I would have jumped them had I been able to move.

"So… You're finally awake." The voice was smooth, dark, completely indifferent, and unmistakably masculine- this enraged me.

"What do you want from me?" I snarled, angered that I was unable to sit up and glare at him directly. I felt so… weak.

"Don't bother to struggle; you won't be leaving here any time soon." The way he spoke, the confidence in his tone was unnerving, the hairs of my neck stood on end.

There had to have been a smile on his face. I was dying to rip it off. "Don't toy with me! Tell me who you are, and skip all the bullshit!" I was more than pissed, not only with my inability to pound him into a bloody mess, but he was so unnervingly, infuriatingly_ calm. _He was walking closer, taking his time, staying in the shadows...

"Hn, have you truly forgotten me so soon?" Was that.. Concern? No, contempt?

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't know you!" I hissed, he was still creeping closer, stopping by the side of the bed. 'So close...If I could just get on my side...' I tried to roll over, my goal being to free my leg and smash him in the side with it. Before I had so much as twitched my thigh, he was over me. Heavy hands suppressing my shoulders, his legs blocking my knees, leaving me defenseless. I saw his face then. Those dark, endless onyx eyes, long dark hair, the curve of his jaw, the set of his cheeks and the light lines that furrowed them... "No..." I whimpered, I felt tears stinging my eyes. "No...This isn't real, this isn't happening!" I was losing it- there was no way- this couldn't.. She was hysterical with laughter. He sprung away, seeing the beginning of my mental breakdown, my mind deteriorating to dust.

"Rai-chan?" He had muttered under his breath, the syllables inaudible as she snarled at me.

'Destroy him.'

'I-I can't, I- never.. No!' I'd started to sit up, ignoring the screech of protest from my chest.

'_Kill him_. Destroy the cause of your pain!' The world was going red.

'I could never-'

'Idiotic wench, I'll kill him myself if you don't!' I felt her wrath, burning, scorching. I felt my control falter.

'I won't let you near him!'

'KILL HIM!' I covered my ears. Stupid reaction, as if it would help.

"Shut up shut up SHUT UP!"I screamed, aloud. Oops…

"Raina?" I turned on him, my eyes were wild, gleaming scarlet- I twitched madly, resisting the urge to screech and set my claws upon him. She snorted and grumbled quietly, her attempts at murder thwarted. I cast my glance down, waiting for the wooden floor to turn more of a brown than burgundy before looking back up. He was still looking at me like I was about to explode or something.

"How... How are you still alive, Itachi? Wh-what the hell happened? I- I thought you.. They told m-me you died.."

"Didn't Sasuke ever tell you...? I killed them." It took me a moment to realize what he was referring to, but once it struck I cringed, feeling a sinking feeling from my heart. I could only gawk at him like an idiot, tears were threatening to roll down my cheeks.

"Liar!" The word was hissed out through gritted teeth- alive or not he couldn't have done it.. His voice had been so cold, so emotionless, utterly monotone and uninterested. Was he still the Uchiha I knew and- No..I couldn't use that word. He didn't respond, but rather looked into empty space, his face guarded, not betraying his thoughts.

"Hn, I'm surprised he left you in the dark." He was smirking.

The shock began to wear away, replaced with a cacophony of emotion. Anger, loneliness, anguish, relief, resentment, wrath...Wait, relief? I felt like screaming from mental overload. I let the tears fall now, giving up on holding them back. I didn't notice I was trembling, and I didn't care either. I felt a liquid warmth coat my fingers as my fists were clenched tight, claws leaving pinprick cuts in my palms. He was staring again, much more intent than he had been before. A complete one-eighty from the formerly dead looking face.

'What the hell?'

'You certainly did it now, fool.' I felt something brush the sides of my head.

'Shit...' Ears...Tail...Duh he's looking at me like a basket case...

"I-I, uh, well.." A few straggler tears were still making their way down my cheeks, which were gaining a bright scarlet hue.

"..." He didn't seem as freaked, just...Worried. I think.

"I-I can, uh, er.."

"Are.. Those.." He was still staring, blinking as if it were just some fucked up illusion. I blushed, using my chakra to cover my embarrassing features back up.

Surely, any sane person would have run, any sane shinobi would have attacked- but he only stared, no trace of fear was visible or able to be scented- a strange glint of curiosity shone in his dark eyes. It… It had to be him- alive or dead; I knew, or at least had known, this man.

~Itachi's point of view~

I inhaled sharply, her eyes.. The color flickered between scarlet and gold, her body convulsing as she seemed to fight some internal battle. I had forgotten about this.. I watched her shake and clutch herself as I spoke, fighting to keep my expression stoic. I wasn't sure what exactly I was expecting her to feel, but she was clearly beyond hurt, something much deeper had snapped at that. Regardless.. I couldn't show that I cared. It was too late for that now- dead men could not feel. There was a pang in my chest as I watched her tremble, those tears hurt- though my feelings were disrupted by a flicker of movement. I never was one for staring, save for death glares, but this was...Different. With no intention, I found myself gawking at a pair of twitching wolf ears. My lips parted in a gape, at a loss for words, hoping she was just playing some game, or a trick of the dim lighting. Were my eyes going bad this quickly?

"I-I can, uh, er.." I couldn't make out what she was muttering, I activated my sharingan- they weren't genjutsu..

"Are.. Those.." She blushed and the strange appendages disappeared, I had to blink to be sure they were gone, seeing only the shimmer of a cloaking jutsu in their place. I had never recalled seeing it before.. No.. I'd always just thought it was a part of her chakra signature, how blind must I have been?

The topic of murder seemed to have dropped for now. I was grateful.

'She truly hasn't changed a bit. Still the same hotheaded little girl I knew all those years ago..' I thought quietly, holding back a smile, forcing my lips into a smirk. She looked down, grumbling incoherently. Hell, she could have probably burnt a hole in the blanket if she glared harder.

"What do you want from me anyways?" She growled, not looking up. Of course, she'd want to know.

"That, I cannot tell you." I'd pay for it, but truth be told I didn't really know myself. Pein-sama had just told us to find an Ame nin with silver hair.. But surely it wasn't her- she was a Konoha shinobi, through and through.

"What the hell kind of answer is that?" She looked at me again, but didn't seem so irate, if only slightly amused. "Whatever it is you intend to do with me, just know I'm not going down without a fight." She said it with a shaking smile, one that showed just how confident she was, even though she could hardly sit up, and tears were still threatening to stain her cheeks. "Is there anything you can tell me?" She was being sarcastic, but I did have something in mind.

"Aside from the fact that you're sleeping on the floor tonight? No." I smirked inwardly, my face betraying nothing, walking over to the closet and retrieving some old blankets and a spare pillow, which I tossed at her.

"Just because I'm your prisoner doesn't mean you get to treat me like a dog!" I'd struck the nerve I'd aimed for, shaking my head and standing aside, waiting for her to make her way to the floor.

Maybe I'd forgotten just exactly what she was like. I was too used to dealing with the easy ones, the ones that never stood a chance from the start, that couldn't so much as lay a scratch on my social barrier. But she was different; nothing said defiance or shook the very foundation of the stoic walls I had lived to create like she did. And for the first time in a long time, I didn't know what to expect the next day.


	2. Challenges

'What am I going to do? There's no way to escape...I don't even know where we are..'

'Kill him while he sleeps, fool. When the others come to check on him, kill them off as well!'

'Put a cork in it!'

'You _will_ regret it if you don't listen to me. _Kill_ him and get it over with.'

'Bitch, I said no!'

'_Then I will do it myself!_'

'Like hell you will.' The bickering never ended. Who knew sharing your soul could be such a pain? I ignored her growling and snarling, shoving it to the back of my mind. I focused instead on what the hell was happening. I was pretty sure it was still fairly early in the morning, but without natural light or a scent to tell me, I couldn't be certain. I was going to get my days and nights reversed if I didn't get out soon.. The room was pitch black, so dark it was damn near suffocating, no star or moonlight, or even the quiet songs of crickets or birds could be heard. I had my small comforts though. I could hear the gentle, relaxed rhythm of his breathing, it kept me somewhat sane, counting each breath, each heartbeat. The fact that he was alive was still news to me, it had struck viciously only hours ago, but not quite settled in yet... Maybe I was dead, after all, or trapped in some terribly realistic genjutsu. Was this what hell was like?

I heard him stirring, and my eyes bolted to the direction of the sound. I could just scarcely make out the edges of his silhouette in this darkness as he sat up, but he turned on the little lamp on the nightstand. He was lacking all but the essential pair of boxers. I blushed, immediately closing my eyes. His were still closed- he wouldn't have noticed. I hope. I heard him rather ungracefully stumble out of bed, his oddly heavy footsteps coming alarmingly closer with each sluggish movement. He managed to avoid my little plot of territory within his lair, effectively reaching whatever he'd aimed for. I heard him shuffling about in a closet before crossing the room again to the door I assumed led to the bathroom.

I yawned hugely after hearing running water, sitting up on the floor. My hair had to be a tragedy, but the most prominent issue of the moment were my wounds. They were throbbing, some threatening to bleed, despite the massive amount of healing that Houkou's chakra had aided in. That being said, I surrendered to my wolf form. Not bitchface, no, my actual lupine self. It was a very brief change, if not particularly painful, one could never really get used to the way that your joints and muscles snap and rearrange themselves. I'd perfected the art of it early as a child, spending more time as a pup than a kindergartner. I began the rather daunting process of grooming, knowing that perfecting my fur would clean my human hide as well.

~Itachi's point of view~

I begrudgingly stumbled through my room, exhaustion laboring each step as I nearly bumped into the closet- grabbing a towel and shuffling into the bathroom, quietly groaning at the offensively bright light as it was flipped on. Being an early riser was always a mixed blessing, one often made closer to a curse- particularly on my rare days off. With a sigh I turned on the water, eager for the steam to help shed the heaviness of yet another restless night. I got out quite some time later, having indulged in the soothing warmth. Reluctantly getting out and drying off, I slipped my pants back on, dragging my towel along as I stepped into my room.

I'd forgotten I had a roommate. I hadn't forgotten said roommate was distinctly human the last I saw of her. I'd opened the door to stumble upon a horse of a wolf lying on my bed, its muzzle coated in blood, its body decorated with eerily familiar battle scars from one end to the other. I couldn't see a speck of flesh that hadn't been ravaged. At least it was asleep...I crept in easily, snagging a kunai from my holster on the table by the door. A floorboard betrayed me. The beast's ears shot up, its massive head snapping over in my direction. I felt an uncomfortable twisting in the pit of my stomach. Is this… Fear? It stood and leisurely sauntered off the bed as if it owned the place, stalking closer to me. I held up the kunai in defense, ready to stab the monster should it come closer. I stepped on a blanket. 'Wait...where is she?' Raina became a concern, either she'd been eaten, or simply fled and left me a present...The latter seemed much more likely. "Where is she?" I growled, taking another step back.

The wolf looked at me, not in a predatory way, or even aggressively. 'The hell's wrong with this thing?' Its head cocked to one side and it padded closer, its eyes were unnervingly intelligent. Its front half dropped to the floor and a growl rose from the depths of its throat, its tongue lapping at bloodied fangs. I took a step back. It sprung. I threw my arms up in vain, it only pinned me down with its colossal weight. I cringed away as it snarled, its lips pulled back to reveal the most insidious canines I'd ever seen, it's snout was almost as wide as my thigh. 'Kisame has nothing on this thing...'

~Raina's point of view~

I'd just finished grooming myself, going over each wound a dozen times and obsessively preening my fur. I couldn't stand the floor any longer, it bruised my elbows and was too hard on my fragile ribs, the bones still knitting themselves back together from the fractures those Sound bastards inflicted. I must have fallen back asleep, as when a plank of wood screamed, I awoke, alert. I saw none other than Itachi lurking near the door, a kunai in hand. 'What is he doing?' Was he going to attack me? I got up with a grunt and strode towards him.

"Where is she?"

I disregarded the question, was he so clueless? He looked so wary, like I was about to eat him or something. I wasn't far from him now, and I bowed my torso, looking up at him curiously, large tail wagging. I tried to ask, "What are you afraid of, Itachi?" It came out as a possibly savage growl, my lupine tongue feeling large and awkward in my maw- it had been far too long since I'd tried to speak. He took a step back, and I coiled the muscles in my legs, poised to spring. He raised the kunai and I leapt upon him. The Uchiha landed heavily against the floor, my massive forepaws covered half an arm each. The dagger had clattered to the floor, sliding several feet away, I saw him make a grab for it, but I snapped my jaws near his hand, discouraging the action. I glanced down to his face then, he looked genuinely fearful. My lips pulled back into a wolfish grin, though it probably looked like a snarl to him. I tried to soothe that out. I opened my maw and ran my tongue over his face, slobbering him from chin to hairline. He shuddered, and began to struggle. I couldn't help but to laugh, he was looking so helpless. I licked him again, starting an unrelenting assault upon his face and neck.

"Get. Off. NOW." I gave mercy and let him up, tail wagging to and fro. "Where is Raina? What did you do with her?" He snapped, his sharingan was activated. I was almost offended. I set my ears back and barked several times, snapping at his hand when he brought it too close. I missed first. His hand slipped by my defenses and he struck my muzzle on a still very irritated wound. I yelped, pulling back and shoving him away with a paw. "Where is she!" I growled and stalked towards him, pushing him towards the door that was either a closet or some other room I didn't know of yet. He kept stumbling back, eventually tripping backwards into the closet, I slammed the door shut on him and held myself against it as I started the transformation. At best it only took 45 some seconds, I finished the change in 50. I had to dress, and still keep him trapped in that closet in the process. When I managed to finish, I loosened my grip on the door handle, Itachi just short of kicking the door off its hinges as he stormed out.

"What's got you so worked up?" I asked, calmly, ignoring what just went down.

"That- you..Wolf, I-" It was shocking, the brilliant Uchiha Itachi was at a loss for words. I could only chuckle quietly at his confusion, he jabbed me roughly in the arm. I think it may have been a friendly gesture.

I could hear the thundering of several pairs of feet, none more graceful than the others. 'Are there no females here?' I wondered, it's so noisy... The thundering grew louder, I looked to Itachi for some form of answer. He seemed irritated at best, his hand covering his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. What did I do wrong? The thundering stopped only to be drowned out by the sound of what may have well been a hurricane knocking at the door. I covered my ears, whimpering at the oncoming of a terrible migraine, trying to block out the painful din in vain. He drifted to the door, the look on his face meant to kill. He opened it by merely a crack, and allowing only a fragment of a sentence to come in.

"Itachi! Are you okay, yeah? We heard some yel-" He slammed the door. Storming over in my direction.

'Shit...'

"Just what is it do you think you're doing?" He glowered down upon me, eyes crimson and enraged. I knew he could be scary, but this was pushing it..

"I-i w-was just-" I stopped as he slammed his hands on my shoulders. I remembered that he liked his bubble of space, that didn't matter now apparently. I didn't dare try to move his hands away, I wouldn't be able to fight him off in my condition. She didn't care. The world flashed red in an instant, and she'd forced me to her bidding. My hand slapped his away, growling all the while. She set defiance on my face, and crossed my arms.

'Are you trying to get us killed!?'

'I will _not_ be pushed around by a mere human mortal!'

'So long as you don't get the pain for it!' I snapped, bracing myself for the attack I could see formulating in those eyes, they flashed scarlet in an instant, the black tomoe dotting the crimson of his iris intensified his glare. He had me against the wall in no time, holding me a good ways up by my neck, only straining one hand in the effort. My hands set upon his wrists instinctively, but I didn't rip or tear, he'd crush my windpipe before I could.

"If you ever even consider pulling a stunt like that again, I'll be adding more scars to your pelt than you can imagine." He meant it, there was nary a waver or thought of mercy I could see nor hear, the slightest spark of warmth that had been in his eyes was extinguished in an instant, only the cold crimson of his sharingan glared back at me now.

'He's changed so much..'

"I can kill you when I please, remember that." He'd crushed down on my windpipe on the last words, making me gag and cough when he dropped me to the floor.

I sat there for a while, simply clutching my throat, trying to find where the sudden cold spell had come from. It didn't seem like it'd be leaving anytime soon. I had initially looked up to glare at him, though noticed for the first time this morning that he resembled a god without a shirt on. It was more of an ogling then, and I had to force my gaze elsewhere as he turned back around, that hateful look still in his eyes. He was starting to freak me out, where had my Itachi gone? I didn't like the cold glares, the icy attitude, and I definitely didn't like the physical part, pain wasn't exactly tolerable at the time.

"Get up, the others have been waiting to see you." He spat, slipping into that exceptionally tacky cloak, and started out the door, not really looking back to see if I was behind him.

I suppose he didn't have to, I'd follow him regardless, lost puppy instincts kicking in. I trailed close behind him, covering my arms as we walked, it was freezing in here! I felt frigid without my vest and gloves, the halter top wasn't quite up to the task of keeping warm... It was looking like hell from that battle, covered in blood and torn by weaponry in rather unsavory places. They'd be able to see the scars, there were so many that I'd lost count. They were my prominent feature besides my lupine appendages, gracing my face especially. He led me through an insane maze of corridors and halls, until finally we reached some form of lobby like area, where others dressed in the same cloaks and slashed headbands were lurking about. Only two really stood out, their appearances feeling uncannily familiar. One was... Blue. I was unaware if people actually came in that color- let alone with gills- I crinkled my nose; he even had a rather unpleasant fishy aroma to him. Maybe he wasn't a person after all. The other was very blonde and... Special looking, for lack of a better description. Curious blue eyes and an irritatingly cocky smile were his predominant features, he kept digging his hands into pockets beneath his cloak. I guessed these to be the entertainment of the others. I stopped several paces behind Itachi, hiding behind his shoulder, keeping my eyes focused squarely at the back of his head.

"Well now, isn't that a nice catch! It's a shame what we'll have to do with her.."

"What's her fucking problem?"

"Hmph, she looks useless, yeah. Can't even hold her own head up."

"What'd you do to her? Sheesh, you need to be nicer to your hostages, Itachi!"

"Huh, couldn't take the time to clean her up a bit more, Uchiha? She looks like an urchin." That was it.

My head snapped up, trying to find the culprit that called me an "urchin". I'd fought my entire life to rid myself of that title, no way I'd let some creep who'd never met me call me that. I was certain I must have looked somewhat terrifying, some of them took a step back. I smirked; a low growl began to rise in my throat. I was on the floor before I could get any farther. His foot was on my chest, squarely over my heart. There was that look again in his eyes again, his 'I'll fucking kill you.' look. I hated it already. I shoved his foot away and got back up, some of the peanut gallery were snickering. No matter- I could assault them later. She almost purred at the thought.

"Is this her, Itachi?" A voice that was upsettingly appraising came from behind me.

"Hn."

"I'm pleased to see you didn't fail me, unlike some others.." I saw the blonde slink away.

"Turn her around, let's see." He grabbed me roughly by the shoulder, spinning me to face the voice. The man glaring at me now was certainly striking, not necessarily in a bad way, either. Twin lines of piercings ran down his nose and others decorated his lips and ears, his eyes were strange- pale and lavender, the irises and sclera both repeatedly ringed in black, his hair a mess of fiery orange spikes. A hand reached out and lifted my chin, turning my face side to side, murmurs of approval and distaste coming from the pierced creep they called leader. I felt like a horse on auction. "What's this about her neck? I don't recall seeing any bruises there, Itachi."

"She became resistant. I used necessary force to restrain her." Resistant? I shot a glare at him, cold, empty onyx glared back- the depth of them boring into me.

"Very well. Now then, what is her name? I only had the very basic of information. I couldn't bear not being able to call her decently, Shinra, wasn't it?" His voice was dripping with condescension, how _endearing_. I received a firm shove in the side, prompting me to speak.

"Shirane Raina." I kept my voice cold, accentuating my proper surname, settling my eyes on a crack in the wall. He nodded.

"Ah, yes… A Shirane _and_ a deserter, excellent." He smiled, his hand retreating from me. "I had to do quite a bit of searching for you, Raina- your... _Escape_ was quite well planned. That being said.. We will be testing your abilities tomorrow, against one of our own. If you are deemed worthless, you will be executed, as a traitor." I stiffened slightly, a fine sheen of sweat forming on my neck, his eyes narrowed as he paused, gauging my reaction, I didn't see Itachi's fist clench as the word "traitor" rolled off of Pein's tongue. "If you can manage to make a favorable impression… I will pardon your crimes, and you will join our organization." It was more of an order than an actual statement- I wouldn't get a choice in the matter it seemed. Death- or life as a fugitive? I'd made this decision before, and I didn't intend to die any time soon. I gave only a short nod, acknowledging my essential death sentence. Seemingly pleased, he strode from the room, leaving the other members to their own devices. Particularly the shiny new female one that had been dragged here against her will.

The day went on slowly from there, every moment seeming to taunt me for ending up here. I had heard about their leader, "Pein" as he calls himself, the "savior" of Amegakure, usurper of Hanzō and his reign of terror. That meant that he knows who I am, who I had been, and what I have done. I sighed, silently pleading to Kami that none of the other members here were in the know as well. Itachi had sat rather decisively on a couch in the lounge area, and without a clue or a scent to properly track back to his room- I was stuck. For far too long I'd had to neglect the benefits of my kekkei genkai, my senses had dulled, and my reflexes with them. The other members did nothing but pester me with questions and mischievous glances while I was busily trying to lament my situation, and when they didn't get an immediate response to one of their endless questions, the bastards would torment Itachi until his demonic glares got one out of me, though none seemed brave enough to question the "crimes" I was to be killed or pardoned for, I could still see the glinting curiosity in their inquisitive- rather intrusive, eyes.

"Ambushed and slaughtered? Konoha's standards have certainly dropped, hm?"

"Or perhaps the Sound's have increased." I grumbled quietly. The attack on my squad had in fact been an act of war- ambushing with lethal intent towards an allied nation's shinobi was an inexcusable crime- Konohagakure was now surely in danger, and damnably unaware. The end of this horrid day couldn't come soon enough. I was in the one place I had never wanted to return to- even worse, my home was now severely compromised. As a member of ANBU, it was my duty to keep our secrets far from the hands of our enemies- yet here I was, playing twenty-fucking-thousand questions with the Akatsuki, a terrorist organization comprised of the highest quality S-class criminals the Shinobi Nations had to offer. Once again plucked from minding my own business and thrust into a whole new batch of trouble. Fan-fucking-_tastic_.

Their conversations drabbled on, slowly excluding me from their concerns, I breathed a sigh of relief. While I had sleep on my mind, she had slightly more devious plans...She'd been mumbling all day, never coming out and saying things clearly, plotting away in the half of my soul she claimed to be hers. I had heard rumors of what these people, the Akatsuki, planned to do with me initially- if they actually knew who I was, that is. Rip the demon from me and leave me for dead. Ha, some execution. Idiots… It wouldn't work, she has more power than any of the beasts. While Kyuubi may have been King Bijuu, she was a god in comparison.

She'd told me the stories long ago, when I was still small and she still couldn't take over my body with the seal still strong. How the bijuu had all fought for supremacy, how Kyuubi had nearly killed her. How her first sealing had gone awry and lead her back to find Kaku, whom she defeated and consumed in another brutal fight. She gained his seven tails, making her the monster she is now. And now, apparently, how the Akatsuki were unaware of this obscene transformation.

'They still think you're the Houkou?' Her tails were writhing eagerly.

'Let them believe that, it will be useful later on.' She sneered, I could see her smile wickedly, crimson eyes glittering.

She truly was a monster, firing all these profound thoughts in my mind that I alone would never have considered. She continued her plotting well into the night, and I listened, despite myself. She even allowed me to put in my own opinion every now and then, though they were rejected each time. The time to bed down finally came, much to my relief, and once I had consumed what remained of my rations, I settled back into my nest upon the floor. I thought I could feel him staring at me, watching for something. He'd become even more distant after the talk with Pein, as if he were silently judging me. I shrugged it away and tried to sleep.

~Houkou's point of view

That foolish girl had fought me off most of the day, but I knew my time would come. Here in the dark hours, there was nothing that could stop me. I started the agonizing process of taking complete control, over her body and mind. Each moment ticking by was another I could have used for escaping this hell hole, and slaying the ones holding me here. I could feel each limb as it came under my control, impatiently clenching my fists as the feeling crept through her body. Finally, completion. I rose silently, slowly, preparing to savor the moment of my captor's death. I trailed a claw over his sleeping face, running it from his cheek to his neck, left open and vulnerable.

'Such a shame, to think he'd have to meet his end like this..' It couldn't be helped. I pulled back for the kill, but found myself thinking for a moment. Where should I strike? His heart, to let her mourn his corpse should she awake in time, or his face, to leave her no solace? She'd been good today, leaving his features intact should be enough a reward for that. I splayed my fingers, leaned back, and sent them to plunge into his chest.

There was no spasm of pain, no waking and screeching, no blood. Only my claws sunk into a log. I snarled, enraged by the trickery. I reeled about, searching for his chakra, his scent. I heard him behind me, had it not been for her slow mortal body I could have killed him. But her muscles refused my bidding, moving far too slow to evade the crushing headlock he had me in. I cursed her for her human weaknesses, the need to circulate blood, the need to draw oxygen. She went limp, but I was still left to seethe in anger, and seep some of my own chakra into her broken body, quickening their mending so I may try again. I refused to be kept trapped here imprisoned like a common dog. I will have my freedom.

**AN: And here we have chapter 2 owo; I'd like to thank all of you that are reading this, and are hopefully enjoying it! ;A; First few chapters are gonna be a little rough because they were written ages ago, and I've tried my best to update them to something acceptable. Some characters will be a bit OOC because I'm definitely not a perfect writer, but I'll try and get them as close to canon as the story will allow. Suggestions, critique, reviews, all are welcome and highly appreciated!**

**I'd also like to thank the wonderful AriaxCantabile for the super thoughtful review, you're awesome! ;w;**


	3. Battle

~Raina's point of view~

I was in a very different place when I awoke than where I'd fallen asleep. Or at least I thought I was. I moved to sit up, but found myself bound down by every joint in my body. Chains, ropes- chakra bindings? All of the above? Great. I knew it was useless to struggle, I did so regardless, just out of habit.

"You know it's useless."I heard his familiar, indifferent tone.

"So?"

"Why do you bother?"

"Can't give up till I say I tried." I tugged again at one of my wrists, and finding it wouldn't budge, I just went limp and sighed. "Why, exactly, do you have me chained up?" I honestly couldn't find any reason for me to be bound to some sort of table, from what my back was saying.

"You tried to murder me in my sleep." His voice had gone cold and sharp, his eyes were fervent with anger.

"You're joking, right?" I felt panic seeping through me- was that hysteria in my voice?

"I've been told I haven't a sense of humor." He sounded irate, if not only the slightest bit concerned. But I knew someone that was just that cruel..

"That filthy, conniving, dastardly bitch..."I muttered. She was snickering.

"Excuse me?" He snipped at me, shooting me a threateningly crimson glare.

'How dare you even consider laying a finger on him!?'

'It was your finger, girl.'

'I don't care whose finger it was, you're the one that put it there!'

'Are you _sure_ about that?'

'Of _course_ I'm sure, you're the one that was plotting murder yesterday!'

'Some of which were _YOUR_ ideas.'

'THAT YOU COMPLETELY IGNORED.'

'No matter, co-conspirator.'

'Hou, you're making my life far more miserable than necessary..'

'Is that so? Your inferior body is the reason we're tied down here!'

"I _said_ SHUT. UP." Her laughter was still filling my mind when I noticed Itachi looking ever more irritated, one of his eyes seeming to involuntarily twitch.

"No one was speaking, Shirane..."

"That you could hear.." I mumbled, looking away. This was one thing I wanted to hide from him, he must never know that she had a voice, that she could speak, and act for herself.

'A shame he can't, then you wouldn't be suffering your _lover's_ wrath!' That struck one nerve too many.

"I swear wolf, I will tell him to come over here and slit my throat so I can die and take you to hell with me!" I muttered with increasing venom, wishing I could strangle the intangible beast. That shut her up.

"_Who_ are you talking to?" He snarled at me, his patience worn thin.

"No one you need to know about!" I snapped at him. Now was not the right time for questioning. Now my temper was running shorter than his.

"What happened to you Rai-chan?" I realized I hadn't been meant to hear that statement, it was scarcely even a whisper off his tongue- oh how I had missed my senses. Yet I knew there was more to what he was asking, more than just about my sporadic outbursts. Did he know now, too? I grimaced when I noticed he had called me 'Rai-chan', a reminder that he still cared. That made it worse. It would have so much easier if he didn't care, if he really was the cold hearted killer he painted himself to be. But no, he could never be cold, never truly hate to the core, neither of us could be that lucky. I longed for our old childhood days, where she couldn't speak for herself, when I could be some ghost of normal. When Itachi was still so open and caring, when Sasuke wasn't training each day with nothing but vengeance on his mind. The good old days. 'What happened to me is no matter.' I was confident he'd find out one way or another, and likely sooner than I'd appreciate. I sighed, remembering I had a battle today. At least I'd get a chance to vent.. Or receive a permanent solution to my problems.

"Do you know who my opponent will be for today?" I switched the subject, not wanting to dwell on it.

"Only Leader-sama knows." He walked over to the table I was secured to. "If I release you, will you attempt to rip out my heart, again?" I rolled my eyes at his quirked brow. Ever the antagonist, even through his renewed icy tone.

"I never wanted to kill you Itachi." My reply was halfhearted, my opinion may yet change. The bubbling of resentment from the previous day was rising in my core- it took all I had to quench my fury for later use. His words still rang in my ears, haunting my memory, _'I killed them.'_ I was still not quite able to comprehend this supposed 'truth'. He mumbled something unintelligible and set about the bindings, taking care not to cut anything- meticulous as always. Did that mean he planned on using these again? I frowned at the thought. Sitting up, I began examining the slight red spots where the bonds had been too tight, small welts threatening to form on my wrists- though her chakra was quick to heal them away, I smiled. Whether she liked it or not- my pain was hers as well. Wasting no time, the Uchiha rather forcefully grabbed my arm and started to drag me off, his hand retreating from me just as quickly as it had come, leaving me to stumble a little behind him. He seemed oddly impatient- then again, he likely thought me insane. After several confusing hallways, we arrived in a narrow little hall, the walls more rough than the others- as if it had been more hastily hewn from the stone- a heavy steel door stood at its end. His grip on me was replaced, and tightened as he led us outside.

The sun was unwelcomingly bright, its rays stinging at my still nocturnal eyes. There was no grass here, just dust and frail weeds, perfect for sparring. There was a little breeze, and one or two lonely birds singing their hearts out, and the sound of little rodents scuffling off in the woods on the fringes of the battlefield. He pulled me off to where I could hear the somewhat familiar voices, and make out the looming shapes of the cloaks. 'Kami, those things are hideous..' My eyes adjusted well enough by the time he reached the others.

"Took you long enough, yeah!" I heard the blonde bark; he was looking way too peppy at this hour.

"Silence, Deidara. Now that both of you are here, we can finally begin." His eyes were even more disturbing in daylight, the pale rings seeming to spin whenever he moved. "Raina, are you ready for your match?"

"Like I have the option not to be. Get on with it." I tried not to be snappy, but Itachi squeezed harder on my wrist anyway.

"Hmm... Very well. Your opponent is Deidara, you will begin on my word. Once I see the clear victor, I will stop the match- by force if necessary." He started walking back towards the stone outcropping that hid their base, the others following him.

Itachi was last to leave, looking at me warily; a frown of curiosity written across his face- I merely smiled and pulled my wrist free. When it was just Deidara and I on the field, the blonde looked at me with the most unbearably overconfident smirk I'd ever seen.

"You don't even stand a chance, yeah. I'll make this easy for you!" He cackled, I sighed and rolled my neck, feeling my muscles stretch and bones pop.

"Whatever, don't go easy on me, I want some kind of challenge." I stretched my back and arms, not really paying him any mind, instead noting that my hurts had scarred over, and my bones didn't ache. At least she had done _something_ beneficial last night.

"You'll be sorry you said that, yeah!" Ugh, why was he so _a__nnoying_?

"BEGIN!" I heard the shout, and took my stance. I pondered on what this guy could do, and why his name sounded so familiar..Ah- I'd seen it in the bingo book- a former member of the Iwa corps of something or other… I damned my terrible memory, making a likely to be forgotten mental note to pay more attention to the things I read. I sighed, wishful thinking, Shirane, wishful thinking.

He charged, shifting his hands about. I smelled something like wet dirt, some kind of thick clay perhaps? I sensed a small burst of chakra...He flung his hands up and simply stood there, looking at the sky. A little white bird was flying at me, though it was made distinctly of clay, no flesh or feathers to be seen. 'That's...Interesting...?' I lifted an eyebrow, curious as to what the hell it was supposed to do. The chakra signature was getting more intense...'Wait a minute...Oh, hell no!' It was already dive-bombing me before I could do much about it. It struck into the earth a yard in front of me, exploding on impact, and sent me flying back. My shoulders hit ground first, the rest of me skidding into the dirt not long after. I could hear him in hysterics about my little blunder, and the others were none too quiet about their amusement either. I was pissed of course, but they didn't need to know that. Deception was the goal here; I'd have to play rag-doll until I could devise some form of strategy.

He kept the assaults coming, and I kept up my genin act. I was sure they all thought me the deepest of failures; even Itachi had looked away, holding a hand over his eyes in what I assumed to be shame. Sure I looked like hell, my hair singed and the rest of me bleeding and bruising. I saw the leader take a step forward, which was my cue. I stood up straight and settled my breathing, and cracked my shoulder back into its proper socket. It was sore and the cuts and burns not very pleasant- but I'd endured worse.

"Had enough, yeah?"

"Not even close." I smirked, ready to cause him as much trouble as possible. He looked incredulous, I suppose it was understandable. It was then that I let my cloaking jutsu off, my ears pricking forward, tail lashing about. His expression morphed rather quickly, from shock to disbelief, and disbelief to unsettlement. I could hear a gasp and a few cracks of laughter from our small audience, and one exasperated sigh. Only one of them wouldn't be that astonished. I glared at him with mismatched eyes, my right remained its usual golden color- the left was a flaming amber, the iris streaked with crimson on a black sclera, my Yaseigan; the feral eye.

With a smile played on my face I went at him. My fighting is a not quite practical, or technically functional by most standards, the technique difficult and movements awkward. For normal people anyways. I danced about him, playing a game of cat and mouse, quickly batting at him and skipping back or away, each little tap pelting at him with my now claw-like nails, jabbing at any exposed pressure point. He kept up pretty well; I'd have to give him credit for that. He made his marks, getting a new slash or two in on my arms as I clawed away at him. Though I had plenty of chakra for ninjutsu and some advanced genjutsu- taijutsu remained my favorite. Nothing was more satisfying than defeating an opponent in hand to hand combat, the close quarter contact made my blood boil, and made my prodigal stamina shine. My eyes gleamed with blood lust as I watched him squirm, struggling to avoid my hits, staggering back under the assault. I would reap all I could from his inexperience in taijutsu- his clear affinity for long range fighting made him vulnerable. Feint back, side kick, advance right- feint left, uppercut, side flip- kidney shot, feint left.. He finally began to catch onto my pattern, and managed to get one of those birds in. I let myself be blown away, using the cloud of dust and debris to my advantage.

It seemed a hearty cloud, able to linger for a minute or so. All the time I needed. The transformation was swift, jerky, painful, and agonizing, but still fast. I smiled to myself, the dust was just clearing when he saw me in all my lupine glory. "Are you afraid?" I snarled, the voice of a wolf is a low and rasping one, trapped between a growl and a mutter. Lowering my head, I watched him from glittering amber eyes. Deidara stepped back several paces, fear written in his features. He must have been terrified; being stared down by several hundred pounds of apex predator, coated in scars and your own blood? Definitely couldn't have been a very pleasant experience.

"W-what _are_ you!?" He stammered, looking rather pale.

I stalked closer to him, a vicious sneer pulling back my lips, revealing dagger-like fangs. I lunged for his throat, snarling and clacking my teeth against one another. He tried to run, but didn't get all that far. A whip of one large paw was all I needed to send him sprawling into the dirt. He lashed out at me, kunai in hand, landing a blow in my shoulder- the knife left wedged quite painfully into my flesh. I stood quite still, simply glaring at him. More mumbling arose from the others, clearly, they had all thought this to be a simple henge- oh how wrong they were. The fresh wound stung a little, though it was nothing compared to my amusement, I let go a low, savage growl, one that rumbled deep in my chest before making the air itself vibrate, one to freeze blood.

The brawl went on for a little longer after that, with minimal effort put in on my behalf. I got a heavy bite in on his leg, I almost felt bad for it. I counted it as payback for blowing me up nearly a dozen times. Deidara was moving sluggishly, fear overriding common sense, stumbling about and limping thanks to the leg I'd bitten. I had tried to think more like a beast, not let human tactics show through- I had always liked to play with my food. I wanted them to think me a monster, a savage beast- they could use the fear. Deidara was staggering towards me, looking angry- if you could call it that, his face was twisted in pain, fear still shone brightly in his blue eyes. I crouched down, ready to snap away at him.

"That will be enough!" I froze, not moving from my crouch. Deidara groaned before collapsing onto his knees and forward into a bloody heap. "Clearly, the winner of this match is Raina- somebody get him a medic. Uchiha," he paused to face him, "she will be staying with you for the night. I trust you'll be able to keep her under control. Dismissed." He had sounded exasperated, waving the members away with an informal flip of the wrist.

They all went indoors, someone with red hair dragged Deidara's body along with them, shooting a death glare back at me. Only myself and Itachi remained.

"That was quite the show." There was a slight glimmer in his onyx eyes, perhaps of amusement?

I eased up and sat, looking over to see him. I lazily wagged my tail, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment, I let my tongue loll from my maw as I panted softly- I desperately needed to shed.

"Come, let's get you cleaned up... Though it would be easier if you weren't so...Wolfish..."

I growled to myself, clearly he didn't quite understand the concept that when I transformed, my clothes didn't exactly do the same. I stood with a low grunt, trotting over to the sad remains of my clothing, grabbing the hitai ate that had fallen from my thigh in my maw and going to his side. I nudged his shoulder, and he started trudging his way back into the hideout. I padded silently behind him, keeping a good distance between us. He let me in the room first, trying to follow behind me. I backed up into him, pushing him back out the door with my rump. He grumbled in protest, though didn't try to get back in once I shut the door on him.

Turning human again was agonizing, the new gashes adjusting and moving from one muscle to the other to accommodate my smaller mass. I scavenged up a miserable looking tank top and shorts from my bag and went to let Itachi back in. He said nothing, simply coming in and tossing an older looking blanket over my nest. I assumed it was in case my wounds decided to reopen and bleed during the night. He went and grabbed what I assumed to be a first aid kit, and set about washing and wrapping the wounds in view and treating the angry looking burns. I tried not to flinch when he pulled too hard or touched the wrong area, I didn't want to show him my weakness. It wasn't long before Itachi finished up, tucking the now minuscule supplies back in the closet, I was grateful for the lack of conversation.

"Do you want to eat?" His tone was flat, obviously irked by not being allowed in his own room, and for having to play nursemaid. I shook my head, food wasn't a main priority. For right now, sleep was the only thing I wanted, my body needed the rest. I fixed my bed, putting the old quilt on the floor and the others on top of it. He lingered for a moment, like he couldn't decide whether or not to take my word for it or drag me along and force feed me. He chose correctly by walking out the door. I was dead asleep in seconds.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hopefully the plot, whatever it turns out to be- cause I sure as hell don't know, will pick up from here and become more.. Interesting, and stuff. Aiming for around 3k-ish words a chapter so they aren't super short or enormous, though some will undoubtedly be longer than others owo; As always, suggestions, questions, concerns, critique &amp; reviews are welcome and appreciated! <strong>

**Aria: Houkou is gonna have some big parts in this whole mess of a story thing, so hopefully she'll live up to your expectations! :D And I'm honored, so happy that someone appreciates my ramblings ;w; 3**


	4. Tempers

"Wake up." I rolled away from the sound, wanting nothing more than to sleep.

"WAKE. UP." I flailed as I was shaken, attempting to open my heavy eyelids, letting out a startled squawk as I came to.

"Ngh, 'Mn- uhp, I'm up!" I pushed him away, starting to sit up. It took me a minute to register the overwhelming pain that was radiating from virtually everywhere. A groan escaped me, the waves turning into individually stinging throbs. 'Guess he was stronger than I thought..' Or I had let him toy around with me too long... Either way, it was painful to breathe.

"You are switching rooms." His voice was cold and sharp, he seemed in a terrible mood today.

"Oh...Do you-?"

"No. Gather your things, you may keep the blankets." He got up and waited outside the door, staring angrily into space.

I forced myself up, muscles protesting and aching all the while. I could already tell that my shoulder was going to be lame for a while; the way it refused to move or adjust in any way was evidence enough- I'd have to try and manage without it. I gathered my miniscule possessions, pondering his mood all the while. What has him so irritated today?

'Don't concern yourself with him, fool. You should have run yesterday, we could have been home by now!'

'Shut up, Houkou.' I grumbled back at her.

'Stop thinking about him! You are absolutely revolting!'

'Ha, call it pay back.' I smirked, now that she had a weakness I could exploit...

'Don't you _dare _even think of it! '

'I won't... For now.' I smirked, knowing I could fend her off a while with some age appropriate desires. The bijuu only snarled and growled at me, coiling herself amongst her tails behind the seal that trapped her, ruby eyes glinting dangerously.

It only took me a moment to grab everything, just my packs and now the blankets. I trailed behind him as always as he led us to the lounge-like area. Only a few other members were there when we arrived, the man with red hair that had helped Deidara yesterday and some… One? Thing? Whatever it was- it resembled a creature that you would find in a swamp from hell. Just how many inhuman members did they have here? First a fish- now a... Plant? He seemed to have his head stuck inside the interior of a flytrap- said head was also mildly deformed and split down the center in black & white; _definitely _not human- I couldn't even pick up a scent from him.. Unless he smelled like flowers, which I supposed, I should have expected. Y'know… I think it was a flytrap, but it was gray. But then, a lot of things I saw were gray, actually. Especially grass...I don't know why everyone just can't say it's grey instead of 'green', they're the exact stinkin' same... Yeah, definitely a flytrap.. Unless it was stone- but that wouldn't... A flash of movement down the hall caught my fleeting attention- some weirdo in a pale red mask was 'dancing', though more accurately 'flailing' through the area, humming and singing something unintelligible- Please tell me that… _Idiot _wasn't an actual member? I deadpanned at seeing the prancing fool was in fact wearing the god-awful uniform. I heard a sound come from Itachi, interrupting my observations; something between a hiss and growl, it contradicted him entirely. Growling was not suited for him as it was to me, glaring was more his forte.

"So she's staying with you, Sasori?"

"Much to your apparent dismay, yes, she is." There was a cruel smirk on Sasori's face, mischief written in his pale, tawny eyes. I disliked him already. "Come here then, Raina, wasn't it? Let me show you to our room." His voice was overly sweet and falsely caring, and it seemed that he was doing it more to antagonize Itachi than anything else. He held out his hand, which I blatantly refused to take. He frowned ever so slightly, but kept that increasingly irritating look on his face. He started walking off, I followed, but not before apologetically looking back at Itachi, only to find he was already gone. I failed to notice the distinct lack of the sound of Sasori's breathing-too focused on trying to memorize where he was taking me.

Sasori opened the door, and shoved me inside. I ignored the shove and set my things on the floor in the corner farthest from his bed- his room was larger than Itachi's, a workbench stood in place of a desk- pieces of mannequins and various vials and blades laid across it. A hard hand set on my wounded shoulder, making me immediately wince away from the contact. He growled and grabbed it forcefully, slamming me back into the wall. I resisted the urge to scream and cry, suppressing the wail that would have come forth into a pitiful whimper. Moving on my own was painful enough, being manhandled was excruciating.

"Don't cringe away from me, beast." He spat, that cruel look still in his eyes. "You will not speak unless spoken to, and if ever you raise a hand against me.." He trailed off, a strange harpoon-looking weapon snaking out from the center of his cloak, the point was attached to a metal cable, its edge gleamed with a strange moisture- most likely poison."Understood?"

I nodded meekly, knowing there wasn't much I could do against him now. The hell did I ever do to him?

"Very good." Then he smiled. It was hard not to pull away in disgust, but I kept my face blank. He dropped me, and I slumped onto the floor. This was going to be a very, very difficult time. She was absolutely enraged, throwing insults and murder plots like a hurricane. I wanted to kill him, She wanted to kill him...This was a potentially very bad situation...His arrogance and superiority complex were going to be the death of him if he didn't watch it.

I was left alone the remainder of the day, exactly what I didn't need, what I shouldn't have. Alone time was time spent plotting and scheming, time spent in wrath and hatred. Time that let her take over. I'd given up on keeping her under, not caring if she had my actions for whatever little time was left in the day. I went under her influence, letting my mind rest.

~Houkou's Point of View~

The new boy that was intent on holding me hostage was even worse than the prior one, at least the old one was tolerable. But this one, this 'Sasori', with these _rules_ that he expected her to follow, expected _me_, to follow, was an absolute lunatic. I'd kill him tonight. She didn't put up much of a fight to my idea; she rather supported his untimely doom. It was a surprise when she fell silent, basically inviting me to use her body. I realized her reason for submission upon feeling what state she was in, she couldn't even move! I didn't push or will her to my bidding, I'd need her in better condition if I planned on staying in her soul. My plans for the night thwarted, I settled for defining my views on that other bastard.

He was mildly polite, had a basic understanding of my host, was fully unaware of my existence, and as far as I could tell, held some kind of feeling for her. All better than where she was now. True, I had been the one to try and kill him only two nights ago, the one determined to end him, but… I changed my mind. My goal was set now, and I'd be sure to follow through. Sasori would never see his rules followed, and she just may get her way… At least this once.

'Can you hear me, Shirane? You'll be getting your wish soon enough.' A snort came from her battered body. Ever so dainty. I let sleep overcome the both of us then, happy to meet the darkness and leave her heavy, battered form to its proper master.

~Raina's Point of View~

Everything hurt. My body, my stomach, my pride...But most of all my miniscule sense of security I'd managed to cling to when it had been someone remotely familiar beating me. I glanced confusedly around the room- forgetting where exactly I'd fallen asleep.

"On your feet, dog." A cold, grating voice was spitting at me, the tone was enough to tell me just how arrogant its owner was.

I tried to get up, really I did. My shoulder was rebelling against movement, my legs felt like cast iron, and the rest of me was convinced I'd slept under a lead blanket. I managed to prop myself up on my elbow, though apparently this accomplishment was not satisfactory. Sasori snorted- and promptly decided on motivating me. A heavy kick landed on my side, effectively hurling me onto my stomach and knocking the wind from me. 'I swear...If I could move- I'd tear his limbs from his body and rename the bastard 'Torusō-kun!'' I struggled up to a kneel, wishing that bitch would be useful and block out the pain.

'You're so weak, needing my assistance like this!' She hissed, though I could tell she was amused. It was odd, we seemed to be on good terms for once.

I felt the stabs soften into minor prods, and the spasms become dull throbs. The sudden addition of her chakra was welcomed, it took the edge from the pain and would help the wounds heal faster than if I were on my own.

'Thanks, Hou.' She cackled softly, hoping I'd use the energy to smack him.

Sasori was still hovering over me, looming overhead in true creeper fashion. It was more obnoxious than creepy, though that look in his eyes was trying to convince me otherwise. I glowered up at him, growling quietly as I rocked myself back and up onto my feet, I glared… Down at him? This short little prick was really trying to give me orders? I almost snickered at the thought. In fact- he looked young. Very young. Fresh chunin young, to be specific. His face was rounded almost like that of a child- his eyes though.. They were cold- calculating and vicious. I narrowed my gaze at him; what exactly did this runt have to offer a high-class criminal organization?

"Just what are you smiling at?" He growled, raising his hand and quickly smacking me across my cheek with a resounding crack- his palm came away bloodied.

'FUCK, what the hell?! That's not flesh!' I recoiled immediately, offended by the crack that resulted from his contact with my face. It would bruise, surely, hideously at that- my nerves convinced me that he'd cracked bone. This guy.. He wasn't right- something was clearly off. I inhaled deeply, sniffing almost desperately as I realized there was very little about him that was flesh and blood. He smelled oddly, and strongly of wood polish- the high quality kind too. Shit, he _was_ wood, what the hell! 'This fucker isn't human either, what in the-'

"I asked you a question." He snapped, raising his hand again and splaying his fingers, I felt my limbs jerk of their own accord; I was lifted off the ground by thin strands of his chakra. "I don't like to wait." His voice darkened, the threads pulling tighter, burning my wrists and ankles.

"You're short." I quipped, growling quietly, the world was flickering with an all too familiar red hue, that wasn't good. "Release me. Now." I growled through gritted teeth, she was trying to take over. 'Now is not the time..' I wriggled against the chakra threads, finding the struggle to be useless. I supposed this was why Pein kept this pipsqueak around- puppeteers were a dying breed of shinobi.

'I will _NOT_ tolerate his insolence!' She was snarling, Sasori's 'skin' took on a distinct tone of crimson- chiding her wasn't going to work.

'This is bad, this is so, so bad..' I looked frantically around the room, desperate for something, anything to avert the two of them.

"What did you say to me?" His eyes narrowed, hidden under his surprisingly long lashes, he was actually kind of cute… I mean, aside from the fact that his body was almost entirely inorganic..

"I said release me, pipsqueak. _Before_ you regret being this close!" I snapped at him, struggling against the threads of energy, I could feel her strength swelling, overwhelming me. 'Don't do this!'

'I do what I please!' She snarled and cackled- she had me. I convulsed as she claimed control, my eyes glittering scarlet as I looked down at the fool binding me.

"You're in for it now, yo-" He was promptly cut off by her.

"You've made a terrible mistake, boy." Her voice overtoned my own, the low frequency reverberating in the air and bouncing off the walls, making the room shake. I could only watch as his eyes went wide, a blast of opalescent chakra flinging him back against the opposite wall, disintegrating his bindings that held me. We cackled at his feeble, puppet body, her will moving my hands through a quick succession of seals- ice release. We breathed out, a chilling gout of water spewing forth to coat the recovering puppet that quickly froze solid, encasing him completely in a block of ice. She cackled again, louder now, and turned her attention towards the door, hearing the footsteps charging from all directions in the halls.

"Sasori! What the fuck is going on!?" A painfully loud voice shouted from the hall, echoed by others.

"We're coming in, yeah!" Not him again.. I groaned inwardly, she only snorted, sneering at my newest predicament. Her work complete; she withdrew her chakra from me in a blink, the sudden drop in energy forcing my legs out from under me, I fell to the floor.

"Sasori? What wa- What did you fucking do!?" I struggled to rise, eyes looking up to see several figures crowding the doorway, the apparently foulmouthed bastard had … White hair? No- lavender, silver? Ugh, and a strange necklace hung from his neck that I'd seen before.. I just couldn't quite place where.. Everything looked so.. fuzzy. I squinted at them, noting the shark-faced, fishy-smelling man from before- Kisame? I think, and Deidara from the previous day, lacking his cloak and struggling with one crutch. My attention drifted between the three of them, settling for a moment on the bare, and quite well sculpted chest of the white-silver-lavender-whatever the fuck colored hair that might be man. I scowled, why did they all have to be in such great shape?

"'S'ere a problem, boys?" I slurred, spitting out a bit of blood. I noticed there was a molar in what I had just ejected. I found myself blinking tiredly at it while blood dribbled from my broken lip, then dazedly looking back up at the small collection of men that were no longer staring at me incredulously, but instead snorting quietly into their hands. I managed to sit up a bit, lightly cradling my cheek, the skin was broken where he'd struck me, blood covering my palm, the surrounding area fading from red to blue and swelling angrily, forcing my left eye shut. I watched from one eye as Itachi quietly shouldered his way through the men, glaring over at me before looking at the heap of ice containing Sasori. He was only in the center of a three foot deep block, which was attached to the wall... I thought it fair enough for what he'd done.

"Get her out of here." The Uchiha grumbled, shooing the men out of the room while the white haired prick walked over towards me, grabbing me by the collar of my shirt and hefting me to my feet before forcibly dragging me to the hall, I was left stumbling quietly along, feeling pleasantly light headed. I felt a rush of heat as Itachi used his fire release to slowly thaw out that damned puppet, all that for nothing. I stumbled slightly, we had stopped moving, I looked up at the guy currently holding my arm, eye focusing on the glittering silver of his pendant- an upside down triangle in a circle.. I wracked my brain as best I could manage, recalling vaguely the use of the symbol by a cultish religion of a sort.

"Think you're pretty fuckin' tough, huh bitch?" He sneered at me, I only quirked a brow, giving him a shrug. He laughed, punching me in the shoulder, in what I assumed, and hoped, was comradery. It hurt like hell, regardless. "You're not that bad for a bitch. I'm almost impressed." He chortled, I grumbled at him and halfheartedly flopped my fist against his chest. I was so tired. He only laughed harder, smacking me heartily on the back before walking off. At least I had made a friend. I think? My thoughts were interrupted by Deidara coming closer, his face uncomfortably close to my own.

"Just what, exactly, are you, hmm?" He questioned, blue eyes glittering curiously. I managed only half a smile, the rest of my face having swollen painfully.

"A wolf.. If you will." I smirked, displaying my fangs, letting my cloaking jutsu down, if only for a moment. My ears perked forward towards him awaiting his reaction, tail held straight back and stiff, my other eye squinting open just wide enough for the dark sclera to be revealed. He moved back slightly, studying the features carefully. He then reached out with one hand and pinched the tip of my ear, I frowned slightly as he began tugging and flicking at it, clearly fascinated that it wasn't genjutsu. My mild disapproval was driven to new heights as I felt something wet trace the rim of my ear, I flinched, and turned to look at his hand. There was a mouth with a grossly long tongue embedded in his palm, my fur bristled and stood on end. "And WHAT, are you? More precisely, what the _fuck_ is that!" I snapped at the hand, clacking my teeth together, the mouth clacked its own teeth back at me. Offended, I growled at it while he laughed.

"I, am an artist!" He proclaimed, clearly proud of himself.

"And that?" I growled, glaring intently at the mouth in his fucking palm.

"A tool...If you will, hm?" He chuckled, using my own explanation.

"Ah.. Fair enough." I snorted softly, looking back over the blonde bomber. His leg looked stiff, and he was clearly favoring it, enough so to rely on a crutch. "Oh... Erh.. I'm sorry about the whole bite thing, first impressions, y'know?" I smiled slightly, nervously shifting my hair as my ears and tail disappeared once more.

"It happens, yeah? You certainly made a lasting one on me." He smirked, his attention drifting to Sasori's room where the lights of a constant stream of fire could still be seen. "You'd best get away from those two, while you have the chance, hm?" Deidara snickered, limping off down the hall, looking back for a moment. "Danna won't take kindly to having been iced!" He called before gimping along on his way, turning a corner.

It seems the others had left of their own accord while I was 'socializing', leaving me on my own. I heard the faint groan of a partially thawed Sasori, and took my cue to flee the scene, both of them were beyond sure to be pissed at me after that. I wandered the halls aimlessly, following my nose more than my instincts, finding myself at a heavy steel door at the end of a long hall. I tested the handle; it wasn't locked, much to my surprise. I pushed through and poked my head out the door, and was greeted by the crisp, rain-scented air, a light wind ruffled through my hair as I sighed in relief, I missed the outdoors sorely. Looking back to check I hadn't been followed, I stepped out into the cool night, relishing the grass beneath my soles as I wandered a bit out into the field, eyes locked on the starlit sky.

Night had just fallen it seemed, the pale crescent moon still on the rise as I stopped and sat myself into the grass, lying back to rest on the still warm, but damp, dirt. I sighed softly, taking in the welcomed sounds of nature, crickets and cicada, the hushed cooing of an owl off in the forest, the quiet swishing of the tall grasses as the wind scuffed along the meadow. I felt my body relax, and let my mind wander, thinking back on the events of the past several days, and how painful they had been. My team.. They were slaughtered, viciously- and I just watched.. I didn't raise a finger until it was too late, again. But- how, _why_? We were black ops.. The best Konoha had to offer, and we failed- miserably, utterly failed. So many missions gone through without a hitch- and now they were gone. Their families- it would be over a month at the least until they were told- until they could grieve.. The tears burned over my cheek as they fell, a quiet sob caught in my chest as I curled in on myself, weeping for their loss- for my failure. I realized quietly that my life had ended with theirs, all the things I had known, the people I'd loved- they were lost to me now. I was at the mercy of an organization of criminals and the monster inside of me. For the third time this week- I felt my heart break. Once for the loss of my team, a second for the loss of my oldest- dearest companion, and now a third as I sobbed a wordless goodbye to my old life- to Konoha, to safety, to normalcy. 

**AN: Oops, looks like Sasori is gonna be a dick in this story. :V But at least there are other characters for her to get along with, right? owo; I've decided to tell the mess of Raina's history through some sporadic flashbacks, so there'll be a nice one to look forward to next chapter. Suggestions on plot are totally welcome and appreciated, I'd love to hear some ideas! And thank you so so sooo much to my followers and favoriters, I super duper appreciate them! ;w; **

**Aria: I'm glad you liked it haha x3 The ultimate sass-master has yet to be decided, but the competition shall be fierce!**

**Siren: All the ass kicking! :D I assure you there will be plenty more where that came from haha, I'm glad you enjoyed it!**


	5. Memories

I lost track of time as I laid in the grass, trembling only slightly as I fell in and out of a light- restless sleep. One that tormented me with memories now tainted- the odd looks and hushed voices in the streets, the now blatant avoidance of all my friends. They had all lied- I had lived that lie for five long, agonizing years. They had known- even so young they had known better than I did. It was a special bond I shared with that boy- the one who used to laugh and tease, play and feel- I knew now that it had been love- that was the only word for it. And it had broken me- shattered beyond repair. I recalled the day I had come home to the destruction- to ruin.

~Four Years Prior~

"Hurry it up Satoshi- we're almost there!" The Inuzuka had cried out excitedly, Tenshi barking in eager agreement as she sped along below us.

"The village isn't going anywhere Takeshi- it can wait for me to catch my breath." He was panting, his jumping slowed as he attempted to regulate his breathing. I couldn't blame him, we'd been on the move from Kumogakure for four days straight, and now half the day with only a single break of any substance. But I couldn't agree with Takeshi more- I wanted to be home. Fall was fast approaching in the Land of Fire- the leaves were tinged with their secondary colors, making the edges of the forests seem to flicker with the colors of flame. This autumn promised to be a vibrant one, it would be so beautiful. I smiled to myself, bounding faster through the branches as I caught the slightest glimpse of the Hokage monument- their stone faces an unforgettable marker for home.

"Don't make me carry you the rest of the way, Yamanaka!" I yelled back at him, pausing on a branch and opening my arms as if to catch him, a sneer written wide across my face, he looked mortified.

"You will not!" He shouted- though his voice cracked, dodging several trees away from me and doubling his pace- success! My smile broadened as I bounded to catch up with them, cheerful jests and snide remarks flying along with us with each leap until at last the gates of Konoha were before us. I jogged up to the two shinobi standing watch at the main gate, greeting them with a smile and wave. They seemed.. Nervous? Their eyes avoided my own as they muttered quietly to our approach.

"Squad 12 returning from Kumo'." I spoke, tying the ribbon of my mask to secure it back to my face. My smile fading slightly, they waved us in and called for the gates to be opened, allowing us to step back into our home village. There was a strange hush in the crowded streets, only the dull roar of dozens of murmurs penetrating the air rather than the typical squabble of bartering and merchants attempting to sell their wares. I paid little mind to the eyes that watched me with fear and uncertainty, my sights set on the Hokage's tower, I picked my pace up a bit, jogging quickly through the streets, a path seeming to clear out of my way as I went. I shrugged it off- they saw I was ANBU and in a hurry- surely they were just being courteous. It didn't take long to reach the largest structure in town- I darted up the stairs to make my report, too preoccupied in my own mind to notice the wary glances the other shinobi and the Hokage's advisors were giving me, slipping my mask back off and hooking it to my pack.

My fist knocked lightly on the door to the Hokage's office, waiting impatiently for his permission to enter.

"Come in, come in." His voice was welcoming, and I creaked the door open, slipping inside quietly and latching it shut, my face brightening slightly as I saw the old man- he'd welcomed me into his village and I had him to thank for the life I led now, home, friends, and rank all included. My spirits were dampened when I saw the sadness in his eyes, and the dark circles under them. "Ah.. Welcome home, Raina. I trust your mission was a success?" He smiled, but the emotion didn't reach his eyes- the wrinkles surrounding them still drooped miserably.

"Thank you, lord Hokage." I gave a slight bow and dipped my head, rising up to watch him with a mild worry. "And yes- the.. Negotiations went just as planned." The Leaf's dirty work was a hard topic- and harder job, but it needed to be done. "Is.. Is something wrong, Sarutobi-sensei?" I couldn't hold it in any longer, the worry was gnawing viciously in my gut. I'd known the man since I'd come to this village- he'd even tutored me before the chunin exams as most other teachers had their hands full with their own teams. His expression only confirmed my worry, which escalated to new levels as he pushed back from his desk and stood, walking slowly to stand in front of me, setting a weathered hand on my shoulder.

"Walk with me, child." He spoke quietly, making his way out of the office and towards the roof. I took the stairs slowly, perplexed by his mood- even more so when we stood on the roof, the evening air ruffling my hair with a quiet wind. "You were close to the Uchiha, Raina." It was more a statement than a question, though I nodded despite the fact. He sighed, taking a long draw from his pipe- speaking again once the smoke he exhaled had cleared. "I regret to inform you of their.. Passing."

"I'm sorry, sensei- Their? What do you.." I spoke out, brows knitted in confusion as he took another draw from the pipe, who died?

"The Uchiha clan was massacred- the criminals are still on the loose with motives unknown- though such a powerful clan was bound to have enemies. They gave no quarter, though we did.." His voice seemed detached and shaky, his drabbling fading into silence after the first sentence, but that may have just been my senses failing me. This.. This wasn't possible. Itachi, Shisui, Fugaku.. They wouldn't have gone down without a fight- there was simply no way that the most powerful family in the country could have simply been wiped out- that one of the strongest shinobi this village had ever produced-

"I-is I-Ita-"

"He's gone, child." He watched me closely, gauging my reaction. He was a smart man. I felt the grief take over me, felt her power surge as mine faltered- I fell to my knees, clutching at my head.

"H-he can't- n-no.. They w-were.. I.." My vision was blurred and red, my heart hammering in my chest as my world disintegrated right in front of me. I jerked myself back onto my feet, tears streaming down my cheeks as I turned to face the Uchiha district on the far side of the village, my legs throwing me from rooftop to rooftop without a thought needed as my mind raced, leaving the Hokage in a wistful silence. There was no way- it simply couldn't be true. I stopped as I came to the usually immaculate white walls, eyes widening at the splatters of maroon that marred the fan emblems painted upon the stone. I stumbled forward, the destruction of what I had come to know as my second home, the closest thing to family I'd ever known- was bearing down heavily on my heart. They were gone. The streets were barren, homes stood empty with doors flung off their runners, blood spattered randomly throughout the whole district. I felt the numbness then, the grief was unbearable, bringing me to my knees. The bodies had all been cleared away, buried or cremated by now. They were gone.. He was gone. I choked back a sob as the pain of loss racked through my body, leaving me breathless.

"Hey! You- You shouldn't be here!" I heard a panicked voice speaking some distance behind me, I couldn't move.

"This is a restricted area, you need to leave- Now!" Another voice. Closer. I trembled as the quiet sobs tore through me, struggling to contain the pain.

"She's not listening- we have to get her out of here before Danzō-" I felt a hand grip my shoulder, I reeled around to face the unlucky man with a vicious snarl, one that was inhuman. He visibly flinched, though his hand remained, the grip tightening.

"You need to leave, we are authorized to use force if-" His words were cut off by the blood curdling scream he then released, my hand having successfully crushed his wrist. Everything was in a monochromatic crimson haze as I stood, leaning off kilter as all I could do was laugh- the tears still falling from ruby eyes, hysteria tearing through me. The man I'd just injured wheeled around- kunai raised as he barreled back towards me, face contorted in agony as he raised his one good arm to strike at me with the short blade. I feinted to the right, dodging left and ducking down before landing four, quick chakra-blocking jabs along his exposed side, rendering him lame- I finished him with a drop kick to his upper back, throwing him into the dirt. The remaining four jounin stepped back some, clearly only now noticing the white of my vest. They were up against an elite of Konoha. Albeit a comparatively young and small one, but ANBU all the same. My eyes were gleaming scarlet as I stood over the fallen man, who was moaning incoherently on the ground.

"I'm not going." I spoke lowly, my voice echoing a threat. One of the shinobi stiffened before turning tail, I smirked. The remaining two came towards me warily, arms extended as if they would catch me. Pathetic. She cackled. I drew a kunai from my holster, easing myself into a defensive stance. I saw the kunoichi to my left making quick hand seals, my lips parted into a smirk. Just as her mouth opened to release the fire ball, I flung my kunai, watching as it gouged her arm and disrupted her jutsu, only a small hiss of flame and smoke escaping her lips as she cursed. Her companion took the opening as I was distracted, his fist slamming into my stomach, flinging me back several feet, my shoulders skinned on the gravel as I skidded to a stop. If a fight was what he wanted..

"We don't want to harm you, just come along quietly and-"

"I am _not_ going!" I growled, rolling to my feet and charging at him, my claws at the ready as my fingers splayed, and I was upon him. Twisting, jabbing, slashing and kicking, only hitting harder with each strike he landed on me- I was bleeding and turning various shades of black and blue, but he was worse off, his shoulder was slumped at an odd angle, one foot facing the completely wrong direction, leaving him to stagger back to fall against the low wall with a groan. The kunoichi was gaping at me, glancing between my battered form and her incapacitated team, she flinched back, drawing the katana strapped to her back, a fearful but stubborn look on her face. I could hear the bijuu in my mind, tempting me with her power, hungry for blood. The jounin darted towards me, sword poised for the strike, slashing down hard at my shoulder. My timing was off, the sword slicing down my torso as I flipped back, the steel gleamed with my blood as I screamed out, rolling back to land on my hands and knees, glaring up at her. I felt her strength surging through my body, her will overpowering my own as she took over, making a feral dash at the kunoichi with a cry that was torn between a scream and a snarl. I only watched as claws tore across her face- scarring her pretty features. I could feel the impacts of my feet on her body, her fist and katana pounding and cutting my flesh- but I wasn't the one attacking, merely a passenger within my own body as the beast took over, pounding the ninja bloody and broken.

The last thing I could remember was standing at what was once the front door of his home, the floors spattered in blood and carved out by a blade. It looked like they had fought.. Fought and lost everything. The tears had stopped, my eyes ran dry of grief, my body trembling and bleeding from the few deep wounds I had received- Houkou having effectively blocked the pain and healed the worst damage.

Hokage-sama said they found me asleep in his bed, bloody fingers curled tight around his anbu mask. The three shinobi I had attacked were in the hospital. The two men had their wounds stitched and bones set, though the kunoichi was far from a stable condition, threats of murder charges were exchanged from her family to me. I cared little. I was beyond all feeling, beyond remorse as the grief ate away at me. No one ever spoke of him when I was around, never spoke of that night. After a week of being confined to the hospital, they had told me Sauske had survived. Another week passed before they allowed him to see me. I'd run out of tears to shed, and hadn't the heart to muster joy, only embracing the small child in my sadness, scarcely minding the cold distance that was forming in his dark eyes. The third week saw my release back to my home, where I secluded myself from the world and all the wary glances.

It took many months for me to return to the ghost of normalcy. I completed missions mechanically, consuming any and all free time into training and improving, honing my ninjutsu and genjutsu- determined to take on the rank Itachi had left behind, to be able to protect those I loved. When my eleventh birthday came, I was accepted into the black ops, my teammates following me soon after, I was made a captain not long after that. And life was alright then. I made friends with the up and coming genin, though Sauske remained distant- even to me. His demeanor was wrathful and cruel, and I never knew why. But now... Now I knew- and I felt a strange sense of kinship with his hatred. It.. It was Itachi who took my family, my love, from me. I felt the burn of vengeance in my gut, not only towards him, but to those who had lied to me.

~End Flashback~

I sniffed quietly, the pain dulled slightly as I cried it out, numbness settling over my mind and aching body.

'I need to get away from here..'

'Then let's take our chances, go now!' She barked, seemingly enthused, still sounding quite pleased with herself for encasing the puppet.

'They'll come looking soon- it's too late now.' I thought dismally, pondering what sort of new punishment I'd be made to endure for her outburst.

'You enjoyed that just as much as I did, child.' She snipped, irate at being blamed. I could see her tails lashing irritably before I blocked her out once more, she curled back into her 'den'. I don't know how long I was out there for, just lying senseless in the grass, mind flitting between grief and worry of what was to become of me now. I don't know when the rain had picked back up, only encouraging me to curl in on myself and remain otherwise unmoved, the cold pushing me into a deep sleep.

~Itachi's Point of View~

"She is proving to be much more troublesome than we expected. Sasori, as your attempts at control have failed, she will be placed back with Uchiha until we can arrange for her own quarters." Pein drolled on, waving a hand tiredly to dismiss the puppet master. His ringed eyes turned on me. "I don't know, and I don't particularly care how you manage her, Itachi. Keep Shirane under control- another of these outbursts and she will be more trouble than she's worth." He glared at me, his brow furrowed.

"Hai."

"Dismissed." I turned on my heel, walking silently out of the room, only releasing my breath when I was half way down the hall. What in the world had happened to her? Sasori claimed to have seen a visible flare of white chakra, something that definitely isn't common place for an average shinobi, particularly one that lacks a specific color- it was essentially unheard of. The puppet had been quite displeased that I had been the one to thaw him out of his prison, being one of only three fire users in the Akatsuki, though his other option was for Deidara to blast him out, seeing as Kakuzu was out on a solo errand- I quietly smirked at the thought. I reached my room, stepping inside my own little sanctuary with a sigh, looking quickly around the small space, and for some reason expecting to see the troublesome girl already here. It took few moments for the fact she had been missing for several hours to sink in. Pein would have my head if she had run, which, in all likelihood, was exactly what she'd done.

Many silent curses followed as I probed for her chakra, shocked as I picked up the faint glow of her signature just outside of the base, in one of the several training fields. I darted through the halls in a brisk walk, a stern look of disapproval settled on my face with a practiced ease. Following her chakra through the winding halls took me only a moment before coming to a heavy door, pushing it open I was greeted by a sheet of rain, partially soaking my cloak, my disapproval morphing into a look of utter disdain.

Sighing, I pulled my collar up around my head, squinting into the rain to try and find her, my gaze settling on a pale mass curled up in the dirt and grass. The girl was curled in a ball, soaked to the bone and scarcely trembling. Walking closer and stooping by her side, I noted that her lips were now a pale blue, and her skin was particularly cold to the touch- not good. How long had she been out here, and more importantly, why didn't she run? Heaving another sigh, I gathered her up, her limp body sagging cold and wet against my cloak as I hauled the sleeping fool inside, just short of running to my room with this partially frozen, idiot of a girl. I felt the probing, questioning stares of some of the others as I darted past the lounge, she was still dead asleep. I resisted the urge to groan- muttering quiet profanities as I backed my way into my room, and then the bathroom, lowering her into the tub.

Why- no, _how _could she manage to cause so much trouble? Even in Konoha, she was accident prone, and misfortune followed her like a plague. Being scraped or cut here, broken something or another there, passive destruction of property, accusations of theft- It was almost too absurd to be true. I sighed quietly, turning on the warm water to try and seep some of the coldness from her body, which at this point had begun to stir slightly from sleep. I turned to leave the room and strip off my, now soaked, cloak and underclothes, slipping into a nearly identical set of clothing, and an extra cloak, subconsciously huddling myself into the heavy fabric for warmth. The Akatsuki never really called for an advanced wardrobe, only what was practical for the standard antics of a missing nin. A thought struck me as I pondered practicality- how had Raina performed an ice release jutsu? It was a skill only available through a kekkei genkai, and an extremely rare one at that. Like me- she had a water chakra nature, though if she had realized her second one was unknown.. I wasn't sure how her giant wolf henge worked either- let alone how it wasn't dispelled upon injury; just how much has she hidden from me? My lips twisted into a frown, she has been quite persistent on only dispelling the jutsu when hidden or behind a closed door- perhaps a hiden technique? Was it a bloodline ability- but that still wouldn't explain the ice... She'd never used any such techniques before I had left- had time really changed her so much? And Pein's words still perplexed me- Raina was not a deserter, or a traitor... Was she? My thoughts were broken by the sound of a groan, turning my attention to the tub to see the suddenly mysterious girl in question coming back to her senses.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The backstory reveal begins! owo; It will hopefully get more interesting from here, as we're now on to all new material, as opposed to things I've rewritten from back in '09 xD Totally open to suggestions for the plot from here on out, though from the way it looks now, things are gonna go AU from here on out. Not sure how far I'm diverging from the plot, but I'm hoping to balance things out. <strong>

**Aria: I'm thinking Hidan will be a good friend-match for Rai, just get all the short-tempered people together :'D I also may or may not have fanart to give you of Ayame :x**


	6. Treason

~Raina's Point of View

My body felt numb, quite pleasantly so- though there was a strange sensation of burning rising around my legs. I struggled to open my eyes, the lids heavy enough that I could have confused them for concrete- how long had I been sleeping? As I waited for my vision to focus, I tensed upon realizing that I was no longer outside, though my fear was soon forgotten when a familiar, strangely comforting scent caught my attention- it seemed to quite thoroughly saturate the area. Then perhaps I was safe? My mind was sluggish, my body even more so as I blinked several times, attempting to clear my blurred sight, rubbing a rather wet, warm hand over my face- it nearly burned, drawing a irritated groan from me. I could hear the steady dripping of water, and any movement earned sounds of sloshing, just where exactly was I? My one good eye cracked open, telling me that I was in.. A tub? My brow furrowed, who put me in a tub? Better yet- why a tub? It was pleasantly warm- if not incredibly hotter than what my body temperature felt to be, but it was much better than freezing as I had been, even if my clothes were now even more thoroughly drenched. The swelling of my cheek renewed its bothersome presence, blurring my vision if I attempted to open my left eye, and forcing my lips into a constant, lopsided, frown. I groaned again, letting myself sink into the warmth of the water, a small cloud of bubbles popping in front of my nose as I grumbled into the bath- next time, I'd freeze that bastard puppet in a deeper block..

"Raina." A surge of water rushed up my nose as I gasped, startled. One small coughing fit later, I glanced up to see Itachi's dark figure looming over the tub, his emotionless mask in place yet again.

"I-Itachi..?" I squeaked out, wary of the blank darkness of the Uchiha's eyes, unsure if I should fear the lack of rage, or be grateful for it. Something in his façade faltered, his lips twitched slightly- though in what emotion was beyond me. He glanced down with a sigh, pushing wet strands of hair from his face as he sat on the edge of the tub, fingers once again pinching the bridge of his nose. The scarlet of the sharingan glanced back at me, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Why didn't you run?" He was staring at me blankly, his tone flat, if not slightly agitated.. Wait, run?

"Why didn't I run?" I echoed, no better than a dumbfounded parrot, his brows furrowed. "I- I would have been caught?" It was more to convince myself than him, really. His eyes narrowed, he obviously wasn't buying it- I couldn't really blame him though, I have a habit of being a terrible liar. That was Houkou's job.

"That is correct... But I will ask once more… Why didn't you run?" His tone was stern, the three dark tomoe circling his pupil spun round it in a slow threat. Surely he wouldn't use the Sharingan on me… Right? She growled at the thought, her own crimson eyes glittering with intrigue.

'The what, now?' She questioned, ears perked as she looked on from her prison, ever the curious creature.

'Dōjutsu.. It's better if we avoid it- you know what happens to curious bijuu.' I smirked at her, she sneered, the dark markings on her pelt were proof of the curse of intrigue. 'Care to lend a lying tongue?' I watched, amused as her lips pulled back- revealing sinister fangs, an eager gleam in her eyes as her tails lashed.

"You know as well as I that running would only get me killed- or worse." She spoke through my voice, pleased to be allowed an influence. His eyes only narrowed, the black specks swirling more intently- it was done before I could even close my eyes.

The world was all red and black, and I found myself bound to a T-shaped slab, suspended by my arms. Hanging there alone was almost agonizing, the sharp pang in my shoulder radiating an ache through my torso. She was on edge, fur bristling in every direction, her chakra silently surging through my body as she snarled.

'What is this- Why can't we smell or hear?' She snapped, her anxiety only serving to boost my own.

'This... This is bad- very bad, we need to get out of this. Can't you do something?' I stammered, glancing nervously at the very bleak surroundings. There was no mistaking it- he'd used his damned eyes, and I was doomed. Her tails were lashing frantically, the demon reacting quite violently to the loss of her senses- even the bijuu fell prey to Itachi's genjutsu. A flock of crows emerged from the black earth, materializing into the owner of this terrifying dimension.

"You have a good deal of explaining to do, Shirane." He spat my name with unexpected venom, scarlet eyes glaring into me. I growled quietly- damn his curiosity.

"I don't need to explain myself to _you_." I snipped, feeling my anger resurface- recalling that he'd taken my family from me, from Sasuke, and left us to suffer… Supposedly. There was still the thin sliver of hope in me that fervently believed I was in hell. He produced a katana from his cloak, holding its tip to my stomach, pressing just hard enough to prick my skin, a trickle of blood running down the blade. He was serious, my eyes narrowed at him.

"Oh? I can be_ quite_ persuasive." The monotony of his voice was unnerving, he didn't waver before pressing forward, the katana driving into my stomach. I grunted- tasting the hot iron of blood in my mouth. "Time, space, the very fiber of your being- all are under my control here." His brows furrowed, time slowed- the agony of the first stabbing drew out over what felt like hours; my breathing grew markedly heavier. He smirked, sharply twisting the blade, causing me to sputter, a shaky growl rising in my chest. "You claimed to be a refugee of the war- what nation did you desert?" He spoke coldly, slowly withdrawing the blade. I groaned, writhing against the slab as the katana was pointed at my side once again.

"Curiosity is a terrible curse, Uchiha." I smirked weakly, cringing as the blade pierced my flesh yet again, only an inch away from the previous puncture. A trickle of dark blood ran down my chin, he quirked a brow, a second stabbing in my side discouraged my sarcasm. I grunted as both swords twisted, suppressing a scream. Four crimson eyes glared at me expectantly, he and his clone sighed, cutting slightly upwards with their swords, prompting me to speak. "Nghh.. I was a refugee, just as you said." His grip on the hilts shifted, preparing to cut deeper. "I was born and trained here- in Ame." I coughed, blood spattering onto his face, I smiled inwardly as his expression darkened. "I-it was bad here- the Third War was tearing us apart, and Hanzō was cruel, he led us into ruin." His stance faltered only slightly as I continued. "My team and I were sent on a mission outside of our ability; an assassination contract- given to a team of fresh chunin. We were outmatched and outnumbered, they were slaughtered like cattle." I smiled sadly, the faces of my former comrades scarcely memorable after so many years- their names long since forgotten to me. "We only managed to kill one of them… I.. I disguised the body as my own, and I ran-" I was cut off as I screamed, a third blade had cut into and sliced down my abdomen, leaving me sputtering out blood and gasping for breath.

"You…_ Traitor!_" He spat, driving the blade deeper, a fire of hate blazing in his crimson eyes. I doubled over as far as the shackles would allow me, he was quite the torturer. "What kind of _scum_ would betray their village? How _dare_ you?" He snarled, casting the katana aside- his clones vanishing.

"How dare I? Really?! You slaughtered them- you killed your family! What kind of scum are _you?_" I shouted at him, tears streaming down my cheeks from both pain and rage. "You know _nothing!_" My cloaking was failing- I felt my control faltering, my tail lashed as the rest of this inverted world turned as red as the sky. Fangs pricked at my lips, my senses amplified as the first stages of transformation had begun. The shifting was immediately jarred to a screeching halt by a sudden impact to my face. '_He fucking slapped me.'_

"_You _know nothing- traitorous _dog._" His voice was shaking almost as much as his fist, a glint of liquid running down his cheeks. He was… Crying? I was almost taken aback, his stoic façade had finally broken. "I've done my duty to my _village, _I have followed orders to do the _unthinkable_- all for the safety of _my_ _home._" He glared death at me- genuine, unadulterated _hatred_ glowed in his eyes, radiated from his being. "_You're a traitor."_The words were hissed through clenched teeth, and they cut far deeper than any blade he'd used. I shuddered, searching for any words to make him understand what I had truly done, any of the horrible things I had endured as a true dog of war- yet none could compare to his pain.

'You will not tell him!' She hissed, the first words she'd managed in what seemed like hours. I relented my effort, knowing well enough that our secret could not be shared, not with anyone. It was bad enough that Pein had found me, likely to continue the research where Hanzō had left it. Whether it would lessen his fury or not- we were in enemy territory, and the less Itachi knew, the better my chance of survival. I'd rather have him think me a traitor than the glorified science fair project this country had made me into. I would have to weather through the pain, however unbearable it may be. And believe me, it was reaching a level I had never before experienced.

'He hates me..' The thought ran through me as I processed what he'd said, the gravity of his words were pressing down on me heavily. He.. He'd been ordered… Forced to.. I choked on the sobs that tore through me, the pains of the wounds were nothing compared to the emotional wreckage. I felt such sorrow for him, my anger replaced by a loathing for the village that had taken everything from him. I parted my lips to speak, only to cry out as a blade cut through me yet again. His tears had stopped flowing, though his hand still trembled as he replaced the katana yet again, slashing hap-hazardously just below my chest before digging in.

"I-Itai.." I whimpered, the sword was twisted again, roughly. "Let m-me ex.." My voice began to falter, breathing heavily. "You… Don't understand, Uchiha." I muttered quietly, struggling to catch my breath. And he never would. He could never know just how painful it was to really be a monster. Amegakure had given me only what was required to make me a more frightening beast to face their enemies; never protection, never kindness- only weapons and the training to use, and to make me become their own secret weapon. My genjutsu forgotten, a tired smile tugged at my lips, flesh being cut along my fangs. Mismatched eyes glanced down at him, my golden irises dim with pain, though they caught his attention, regardless- the stark contrast between one black, and one natural white sclera was rather difficult to miss, let alone the severely constricted pupil. His eyes narrowed as they examined me, the bladed wheel of his Mangekyō spinning slowly as it assessed my kekkei genkai, his wrath momentarily placated by his infamous curiosity.

"Dōjutsu?" His tone had stabilized, the tears had dried- his face once again the emotionless mask he used to face the world- only the faintest hint of intrigue noticeable in his voice.

I sighed, unwilling to activate it in this situation, my joints wouldn't be capable of this position if I were to shift. "Do you know… About my clan?" I panted quietly, feeling like I could scarcely gather enough air to keep awake. He inclined his head slightly, expecting an answer; I smiled slightly. "Ask Pein." I was reaching my limits, the unbearably realistic pain was ravaging my stamina, and the psychological burden was bearing down none too lightly, either. He frowned, and faded from my vision. Yet there I remained, his words echoed endlessly; "_You're a traitor."_, dripping with disdain as I was left to suffer for my existence, for my crimes. I watched my worst memories, reliving them, each more vivid than the last. The sealing, my desertion, the massacre, my team's slaughter, Itachi's betrayal- over and over, I watched my life crumble. I felt myself breaking.

'You must kill him, before he kills you.' She spoke quietly through the nightmares, her voice was dark but distant, I wasn't entirely confident who, or what her words were directed at- I could sense her anxiety at the fringes of my consciousness.

Falling into the despair was all I could do but to not agree with her.

~Itachi's Point of View~

I frowned at her as she went limp against the slab, she hadn't lasted as long as I had expected. I released my genjutsu with a weary sigh, vision blurry as my sharingan deactivated. It was taking a painful toll on my sight, leaving me to wait several moments until I could see relatively clearly. She was slumped back in the tub, her face contorting and flinching in her sleep. She would be suffering; I felt no remorse for her.

The girl I thought I'd known- the poor orphan of war my family had taken in, was a willing deserter to her own country. That she managed to feign her death so well was rather miraculous- let alone keep her history a secret for so long. I still felt resentment and anger gnawing at me- I suppose I was almost jealous of her; to have the ability to flee from responsibility and loyalties, to shirk your duty. And yet she held no shame, it seemed- she lived as a fugitive and clung to the life she had made in Konoha, when by all rights, she should have been killed on sight as a rogue shinobi. I supposed that made sense of some of her odder quirks.. The way she would never let her guard down, never relax anywhere- even in my family's home or kilometers away from Konoha. She expected to be hunted, she'd been expecting death to be there around every corner, for over a decade. I scowled, letting the water drain from the tub and leaving her there for the time being; she wouldn't recover any time soon. I exited my room, wandering my way through the base to make for the library. '_Ask Pein'_ she had said- as if I'd be fool enough to question the man.

Finding information on an old and well known clan of Ame should be rather easy, considering I was _in_ Amegakure, at one of the most complete libraries the small country had to offer- second only to Pein's personal collection. And yet as hours slipped by and away, I found only a few mentions of the Shirane clan, and those I did find were cryptic and made them seem more akin to legend than actual history. I sighed quietly, habitually pinching my nose in frustration at the lack of knowledge to be gained here. There had to be _something_- clans simply don't fade into obscurity after a matter of decades. I found myself glaring at a small, rather abused looking case of scrolls, pulling out and glancing over each of them mechanically until finally- one title caught my attention; "_The White Waves of Amegakure; Fall of the Shirane_", it seemed quite promising. It was a small, very plain looking scroll, the edges decorated by a simple pale blue border, a single golden tassel hung from the edge of the paper. I made myself comfortable at one of the several desks, unrolling the aged parchment and began to read.

_The Shirane clan had been a powerful force within Rain Country for many years, creating an excellent tracking division that served in the Second Shinobi War, and later contributing many shinobi to Hanzō's rule…._

_Shirane trackers were said to be part beast, one of their eyes being gold on a dark sclera was the signature appearance of the clan's kekkei genkai; the Yaseigan. Famed for their heightened senses and immense stamina, the trackers were able to capture a record seventy-three missing nin throughout the war effort, though their methods were kept a closely guarded secret…._

_Their emblem was a wolf's head in the shape of a wave, likening their abilities to that of the beasts. As legends told, the Shirane's kekkei genkai had once enabled them to take the physical form of a wolf without the use of ninjutsu; though this ability has since been lost in recent generations. The origins of their bloodline limit is vastly unknown, though has been linked to the worship of demons, and even Jashin…._

I frowned as I read on, transformation without ninjutsu, demonic intervention? It seemed to be steeped in more folklore than actual fact, though at least now I knew that she did have a kekkei genkai- however strange it may be. Many sections of the text were severely faded, or completely blacked out- but why? I skimmed through the salvageable writing.

_As Amegakure industrialized, the 'art' of the Shirane became archaic, their talents in tracking diminished as technology and the furthering of jutsu outpaced their skills. The clan was little more than a name with a legend by the time the Third Shinobi War came to fruition, and was made practically extinct when the Five Tails returned to wreak havoc upon Rain Country, wiping out their village and destroying a large part of the countryside- leaving the swamps in its wake where there had once been meadows and streams…._

_Ame was unable to wrangle the beast on their own, and thousands lost their lives to the five-tailed beast before the might of Sunagakure and the Kazekage arrived, bringing the monster to heel and sealing it within a jinchuriki. It was known that the jinchuriki was a child of the Shirane, though if further record was kept, it was lost in the civil war when Hanzō was removed from power- it is likely that the jinchuriki was killed within the battle. The Shirane name was common in Ame, though those with actual ties to the main house of the clan were nonexistent. The world lost a rare asset in the demise of the fabled "wolf shinobi", though there have been reports made of one or two children born with the Yaseigan as the years went on- though use of the skill was deemed impossible due to the loss of the clan's history…._

The writer drabbled on further about the losses in trade and politics after the clan had been wiped out- but I found no further information to be of use. I sighed and rested my forehead on folded hands. Pein had 'formally' pardoned Raina for her treason, but I couldn't do the same. She had been a trusted shinobi of Konoha, she knew the inner-workings of the village, and many of its secrets- and they would be extorted from her by the other members. She was a threat to the people I have given up everything to protect, and a threat to my position in the Akatsuki. If they knew Sasuke was still alive.. I shuddered at the thought- my plan would be ruined. Even though I acknowledged, or rather declared, these to be my reasons for despising her; on a deeper, more selfish note- I had felt betrayed. One of the few people I had ever let myself become close to, who I could call a friend- maybe even something... More… Was a liar, a deserter, and now a danger to what has become my life's work.

I quietly kneaded my temples as I began to strategize- she needed to be dealt with. There had to be something wanted of her for Pein to assign us her capture; obviously not to execute her if he were going to pardon her- perhaps as a tracker? But what use would she have compared to a legitimate tracker or hunter nin? What use could she possibly serve to the Akatsuki? I ground my teeth in frustration, there were far too many unanswered questions- and she was hopelessly unconscious and likely damaged by the first round of interrogation. I had let myself get carried away by emotion, and as a result- would have to deal with the consequences; an incapacitated, and thus, non-responsive hostage. Damn it all. At least there was the small comfort that she would not recall my confession- I had made sure of that. It would be better for her to hate me- at least now the feeling would be mutual. I stood and pocketed the small scroll, planning to take notes upon returning to my quarters, and possibly search for any information I had missed at first glance.

I let myself fall into my bed, a quiet sigh escaping me as I closed my eyes. Re-reading the scroll had been a fruitless, and painful endeavor- my vision blurred terribly, which led to an immediate migraine, from which I now hid by lying face down into a pillow. A loud thud distracted me from the ringing in my ears, I frowned as I glanced up from my misery and found two, very large, very red eyes glared back at me.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not too much to say about this chapter owo; I've got the next few parts in the works, and I will warn you all now that things are going to get rambly. We will adventure into Rai's past, physiology, and relationships with other characters, and question my terrible sense of humor! Speaking of which, I'd be interested to hear of any secondary pairings for other characters in the story, anything goes! ;3<strong>

**Aria: The love tub! Or maybe the soon-but-really-eventually-to-be-love-tub xD I'll be throwing a pm at you some point this week with stuff and arts mwahaha, because I really love Ayame ;w;**


	7. Doors

~Raina's Point of View~

The nightmares were unending, each reliving burned the memories deeper into my mind, the images far more vivid than they had ever been before. I could feel only the pain I watched being inflicted upon me, though a strange nagging was in the back of my mind, telling me something was missing in the sequence of Itachi's tormenting while I was under the Tsukuyomi, yet as I watched it again and again, the nagging faded until it was only a faint confusion. He had stabbed me until I spoke, and then stabbed more viciously upon disliking my answer, whatever it had been; there was no sound in these memories, only silent cries and vibrant pain.

'Raina!' A voice was screaming, just barely audible in the crushing silence. I frowned slightly as I watched a smaller, younger version of myself mauling the unfortunate jounin who had tried to remove me from grieving my adoptive family. 'Snap out of it!' It grew louder, familiar. I was in the hospital now, fighting against receiving an injection of nutrition to keep me from starving myself. 'You idiot girl!' It barked, the nightmare was halted- stopping on the image of a traumatized, young Sasuke being held by a broken girl. Two gleaming red eyes glared down at me, I could only stare back blankly. The owner of the eyes solidified as they drew closer, a long, narrow snout, bristling white fur masked with black, a dozen long, lashing tails.

'Houkou?' I squinted at the beast, the gleam of long fangs confirmed my suspicions.

'Surrender to me, and we will be free of this place.' Her voice was harsh, her fur bristling and tails lashing angrily- what happened? I looked at her, feeling rather shocked- nothing ever unsettled the bijuu this much.

The offer was more than tempting, I felt like every wound I'd ever received had been reopened and rubbed with salt- particularly the one she had created. The massive scar on my back was burning, from the nape of my neck to the small of my back- and along every nerve it had frayed. It looked as though I'd been struck by lightning, the largest points radiated from between my shoulder blades, the longest travelling jaggedly down my back. It wasn't just the burning that hurt, it _stung_, everywhere; of all her damnable tails- the one that controlled lightning just _had_ to be the last to enter my body during the sealing- ever so kindly leaving behind its signature, burning and electrocuting me all at once. Ever since that day- I have _despised _lightning. Not fear, no- I _hate_ it- it was a massive weakness of my chakra nature- and it hurt like no other element. Burning, stinging, sharp, seizure-inducing pain. The seal that contained her was placed on top of this, a strange, nine-point seal the Kazekage had made in an attempt to harness the power of a different beast- I was merely a test subject. I suppose he had been displeased with the result- Houkou's chakra was almost entirely sealed away and practically invisible to even the most skilled sensor ninja, at the time- I couldn't tap into it whether I wished to or not, though now it only required her consent for me to use it. Not a trait they had anticipated I suppose- the only thing they really succeeded in was keeping the beast sealed inside me. It was quite troublesome, actually. Suna had left me in Ame's care, being a completely sealed, essentially useless jinchuriki and what not. They wouldn't dare to kill me, being unable to re-seal the beast on their own- and for such a small country to lose a weapon so powerful would have been too tragic- even if said weapon was defective. I regarded the beast quietly, mulling over the options. Continue dwelling for who knows how long in this psychological hell-hole; or give her control of my body? I wasn't keen on the idea of watching both my teams die for a thirtieth time- I chose the latter, releasing all the resistance I had built up over the years to keep her contained as the seal had been slowly weakening.

Her chakra surged, dispelling the jutsu in a blinding flash, and I found myself back in the, now empty, tub; feeling entirely exhausted. My mind was still racing through the nightmares- though the physical pains had at last ceased, my body finally able to relax… Unfortunately, the sensation was regrettably short-lived. She forced "our" body out of the tub and sent a flow of energy to my left eye, activating the transformation. It was unnerving to watch my shift in the mirror that hung from the wall- the lengthening and reformation of the skull as it shifted to fit a muzzle was particularly disturbing; there _was_ a reason I only did this when no one could see. My drenched clothes grew more and more uncomfortable as my rib cage expanded, eventually tearing the fabric- the same fate befell my bandages. Indecency isn't much of a concern when you have a full coat of fur- but I suppose it's just the principal of the thing. She shook out our fur as the change was completed, stretching out our legs and adjusted joints, ruby sights set on the Uchiha, who was oddly, lying face-first in a pillow. I only watched tiredly as she stalked closer, entirely uninterested in fighting against her will.

She leapt over to his sleeping form, hindpaws landing with a thud on the wood as her forepaws hit the mattress, head low in predatory observation. He jumped at the sound, a pleasing flash of surprise, and possibly fear, shone in his dark eyes. She didn't make a sound, eyes only narrowing as she stared him down, lips pulling back with a savage snarl when he reached for the pouch at his thigh. They were left to simply glare at one another- locked in a stalemate.

'I suppose he does not look unattractive..' She thought after several tense moments, a smile twitching at her lips.

'Hmmm… He is pretty handso- Oi! Now you wait just a minute, what are you getting at, Hou?' I had nearly failed to catch myself, I eyed the wolf cautiously, she only sneered and cackled, refusing me a reply. That man had just subjected us to hours of psychological torment- he wasn't allowed to be attractive… Though he certainly was a pleasant sight… Feeling indignant, I huffed, and could only glare on through her vision. His eyes settled back into their former cold and frankly, lifeless, expression. She had been rather busily sniffing and thoroughly examining him, his scent was much clearer through a proper canine nose- warm and earthy, with notes of sandalwood and light musk, the barest hints of cold steel. The staring continued for several long moments more. She snorted, sitting our rear on the floor while our front half remained on the bed, watching him closely all the while.

"…." His mouth opened to speak, but no words left his tongue. He shut it with a frown.

A low growl was the only response he received.

"Your kekkei genkai has become extinct- your jutsu will not fool me." He spoke evenly, his Sharingan activated with a blink; and he continued staring, brows furrowed ever so slightly. Nothing had changed. We did not grow smaller or appear human, no shimmer of chakra denoting the use of ninjutsu, our ears merely perked forward with a quiet snort. Had he the Byakugan instead- he'd have known that this was in fact, not a jutsu. Muscles, bones, chakra networks, all had shifted into that of an animal. How it was possible was beyond my understanding- Houkou had merged the genes of a wolf with those of my ancestors- and it required only a swirl of energy behind the affected eye to cause the shift. I say energy, because it definitely wasn't chakra- Hou had pounded this fact in particular into my memory.

She had elaborated on this at one point- but the lecture had been so long and tedious, stuffed with words I couldn't manage to comprehend, and so painfully _boring_, that I certainly couldn't remember all the details. It had something to do with 'natural energy' and 'senjutsu' and some kind of 'sage'... Something like that, anyway. Such was one of the short-comings of her gift to the Shirane. Immense primal strength and ability- all at the cost of a shorter attention span. I was very much an "_in the now_" kind of person, my attention was easily grabbed by quick movements or sounds, sudden scents or subtle changes in posture. Needless to say- the years I'd spent at the 'academy' had been… Difficult. She hadn't been able to help much; my chakra control was wonky at first- until the instructors took to a more… 'Hands-on' approach at tutoring. I felt the twinges of kinesthetic memory come from a dozen scars.

Their staring contest continued while I was reminiscing, ending as Itachi sighed, sitting up against the wall. He seemed confused- staring at me- er.. Us, rather, wondering how we'd broken his genjutsu, wondering how we managed to get up after what he subjected us to.

"Why are you here, Raina?" His voice was quiet, almost strained. "What does he want from you?" His disdain in saying my name was painfully apparent.

"The secrets of this country are many and terrible, Itachi; it would be unwise leave stray dogs to wander freely." Our eyes narrowed at the clenching of his fist. "And it is easier to reclaim an old dog than to find, and train a new one." He glanced up at us, eyes tired and wary, a sigh leaving him.

"Even a traitorous one?" His tone was biting, yet still showed just how exhausted he was- the genjutsu must have taken a painful toll on him as well…

"Hn." She grunted in response, looking down at him. He wasn't buying it.

"Is it really that difficult for you to tell the truth, Rai-chan?" She only snickered, relenting her control over my body- my eyes turning golden once more, he frowned further when he noticed the change, still unaware to its significance. And if I had any choice, he would remain as such.

"You don't want to know the truth, Tachi-kun." My voice was hoarse and deep, but soft all the same. He flinched as I spoke, but I was right. I backed up and off the bed, curling myself into the remnants of my blanket-nest, which had kindly- if not uncharacteristically sloppily, been set back up for me. It was a tight squeeze, but comfortable enough. I didn't have any clothing immediately available to change into, and I didn't feel like shifting again tonight. I could feel him staring at me, and despite my better judgment, I glanced over my shoulder. He was stoic in his exhaustion, yet there was still anger in his eyes, his body stiff and radiating aggitation. I gave a quiet snort before curling back in on myself. "Careful, Uchiha. Your contempt is showing." I barked out quietly, settling in to sleep with a smirk tugging at my lips. He merely sat still, fists clenched and shaking.

I awoke to the sound of running water and the scent of a certain Uchiha. I sighed and rolled to my side, stretching out my cramped body from its tightly curled position. The night had passed without incident- it was a shame that I was almost giddy to realize this. I rolled and scratched my back along the floor, paws splayed wide in the air as I chuckled at her, the bijuu simply snorted at me and stuck her tongue through bared fangs. Houkou's smile isn't exactly award winning.

There had been nightmares, of course- undoubtedly a side-effect of Itachi and his damn sharingan abuse. Though the terrors continued to prod at my growing sense of anguish and hate towards that man- they were bearable. I was no stranger to abuse and death- and until I had gone AWOL, they had been my dearest companions. I'd witnessed the death of my parents at the hands of invading shinobi from Iwagakure, which was a shame, really. They were just civilians, myself and my sickly father scraping by with one income from mother's most unsavory job, which the shinobi had taken no issue in partaking of before slaughtering her. Oddly enough, that had been the day I discovered one of the best values of the yaseigan; stamina. I ran from what had once been our sad little village on the outskirts of Ame, and kept running for a full day before exhaustion caught up and threw me in the mud. I was never really a healthy kid, poverty wasn't kind to those who weren't strong- being the scrawny four-year-old I was, strength wasn't an option when I'd found myself in the gutters of the Hidden Rain Village. So I turned to the only other available ability- cunning. I snuck and stole, picking pockets and filching food from merchant stalls. I wasn't all that good at it from the start- earning myself a multitude of beatings and the signature cut across my nose, but that is how things worked in a war-torn country- learn fast, or die. And so for a little over a year, I ran the streets in little more than a potato sack with holes cut in it for my arms and head, and some very patchy shorts- stealing whatever I could get my grubby little hands on, edible or not- it could often be bartered for something that was.

Even after the uh… "Incident" as Hou and I chose to call it, and I became- or was rather forced to be a ninja, comfort was still only a myth. I went from living in the back alleys and gutters, to living in a neat, dank little cell- complete with roof and concrete sleeping surface. Thinking back, I realized how my years in Konoha had spoiled me. Especially when I learned that Leaf shinobi were _paid_ for their work- I ate like a queen, and almost single-handedly ensured the prosperity of the Yamanaka flower shop. Inoichi's wife made some of the most fabulous perfumes- and even taught me the art of tinkering with poison, or at least, she tried to- I was never really able to grasp the concept. I often confused wolfsbane for bluebells, and the berries of nightshade for wild cherries. And I couldn't tell most herbs apart from one another, especially when they were all gray- or were they green? Whatever, same thing. And it wasn't wise to try and smell the difference when you're working with toxins and their inescapable fumes. She took care of my few poisoning needs while I had lived there, if not out of a strange sense of failed duty, then for the sake of my victims who had endured severe intestinal distress from my wild cherry concoctions. She was put out of her misery when Satoshi dedicated himself to managing any and all poisons my team used. The sunny memories came to a halt when I remembered that the brilliant, snarky, and often whiny boy I had spent nine years of my life working with, was dead.

I sighed and reburied my past with a groan, rolling back to my stomach and onto my paws, hearing the water stop and the splat of wet feet on tile. Grabbing my scroll-pack in my maw, I paced around the room several times, impatiently waiting for him to get out of the bathroom- nature was calling. Incessantly. I all but bolted into the washroom as soon as he'd taken a single step out, the door quickly shut, and not so quickly locked soon after. It's quite difficult to twist a lock when you have no hands. I could hear him sigh on the other side of the door, but that was of little concern. I needed a shower. I stank of wet dog and well... Not much else, it's kind of an overpowering smell, really needed to fix that. I remembered not to look in the mirror while I shifted this time- the only thing more unattractive than watching a human turn into a wolf, is in fact, watching a wolf turn into a human. I can assure you, the facial features and their reconstruction make for some incredible expressions, none of which you'll want to see. Ever.

I flipped the water on, fingers all snapping and popping as their joints readjusted, it felt lovely. I released my cloaking jutsu, ears and tail twitching and swaying while I waited for the water to get warmer- a new set of scars visible on my body without the genjutsu to hide them. Many of them were from 'training' mishaps here in Ame, some from missions in ANBU, though one of the most severe was the gash going down my shoulder and over my chest, stopping just above my diaphragm. It had been where that kunoichi had tried to cut me down in the Uchiha District, for trespassing on a crime scene or some bull shittery like that. Her injuries had forced her into retirement, her family _still_ pestered me about reparations for hospital bills and the like, as if I hadn't paid them enough already. A fine layer of steam was building up on the mirror- I nabbed several scrolls from my pack, unraveling one to unseal soaps and other bathing supplies, which I promptly dragged into the shower with me.

~Itachi's Point of View~

I gave only the lightest flinch as that beast whisked by me, unsure whether to smirk or frown as I heard her struggle with the lock behind me. I sighed as I toweled off my hair, glaring quietly at the mess of white fur she'd left behind on her bedding, noting with a scowl that she had also rubbed off onto my bedspread. I no longer wondered why Father had refused to let us keep pets. Brushing off the offensive white hairs, I sat on the edge of my bed and kneaded my temples- still pondering just how she'd managed to escape the genjutsu. Her chakra control was questionable at best- I was shocked she managed to cloak her appearance at all. There had been many, _many_ times while we were chunin that Raina had displayed her dismal lack of control- particularly when she'd attempt water jutsu. She'd managed to blow bubbles on a few occasions, and made sad little puddles instead of making a proper water bullet- I smiled at the memories, despite myself.

I could still remember first seeing her in the masses of refugees that arrived with the end of the war- all of them haggard with expressions that spoke of the horrors they'd witnessed. There hadn't been many children among them- which made the small girl stand out even more. I was shocked to see that even being so young, her eyes had been so hollow, devoid of anything that may have been happiness. I found that I was oddly drawn to her- the strange yearning to seek comfort in someone whose eyes held the same sadness as my own.. And so I did. She wasn't much of a talker at that time- and was almost painfully quiet and reserved, determined not to let anyone in. Father hadn't been all that keen on my spending time with an outsider- though he too took interest in the little silver-haired orphan girl once she had tested out of the academy with almost flying colors. Now- I say almost due to her dismal scores in ninjutsu- though she had managed to hold her own in every sparring match Funeno-sensei had thrown at her, despite this. Upon learning this, Tou-san had been quick to encourage my friendship with Raina- frighteningly so. Tou-san never encouraged much of anything that wasn't my training. There was still that strange sense of kinship I found in her- and I now had the excuse of my father's will to pursue her. Much to my surprise, she accepted this, and me… And my baggage. Shisui had been just as quick to bond with her- spending most days teasing her for being so small for our age group. But that had its drawbacks- I'd never seen him run so fast from someone he so frequently called "squirt". Kaa-san had liked her too- though she seemed disappointed that Raina was closer to a standard shinobi than a proper kunoichi, and had tried her best to instill some feminine wiles in the girl- ending in some rather humorous results.

In hindsight, none of it really made sense now-no more than it had made any sense when Pein-sama had her fight for her life. If she had known that day would come, why did she fight against it? Did she intend to betray Konoha as well, now? It was unsettling how at-home she seemed to be here despite the open hostility from virtually everyone- even me, she was an anomaly. Had she been a spy all along? Or did she flee with good reason? I groaned and grumbled quietly about the absurdity of it all, lying back against the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She was supposed to be in Konoha, blissfully ignorant of my crimes and still thinking me dead. She wasn't supposed to be sought out by a criminal organization, wasn't supposed to be a turncoat, and wasn't supposed to be _here_. There were few things I truly hated in this world- war, liars, and Danzō, but most of all- wrenches being thrown into my carefully prepared plans. If nothing else- she was a giant, confounding wrench. I spared a rather grouchy glance at my door through my musings, hearing the distinct sound of irritated footsteps. I rolled back onto my feet, making my way to the door and whipping it open with a bit more force than necessary, sharingan blazing irritably. The pale ringed rinnegan met my gaze, and I almost shirked back from it. Almost.

"Leader-sama?" I addressed him, the unfeeling mask already back in place, only the slightest twitch of my brow signifying surprise.

"I'm sealing her in here. Hold the door." He was as blasé about it as he was with everything, scrawling a mess of kanji and figures on the outside of my door in black ink while I held it there, contributing my chakra to the seal when requested. It wouldn't do much good if I couldn't get out- even Pein wasn't so cruel as to trap me in here with the girl. I wasn't surprised by his affinity for fuuninjutsu, I'd heard rumor that he'd mentored under a seal master in his youth. He was quick to finish his work, and strolled quietly back down the hall. I sighed as I heard the water stop running, mentally bracing myself for whatever would come out of my bathroom- be it girl or beast, or worse.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Question for those who do read this- would you guys be interested in seeing some of the concept art that goes along with the story? I've done a few very basic animations of several upcoming fights and I have timelines of growth as well as ageheight comparison drawings done for Raina & her team, as well as her wolf form and of Houkou too! Please let me know if you want links and such to these things owo**

**So sorry for the long wait between chapters guys ;w; Life and work have been beating the crap out of me lately and ate all my muse D: I'll have another update this coming Sunday and will hopefully get back on schedule after that! I finally finished the first of several pics of Raina, which you can find on my profile now- and it will hopefully soon be joined by another two or three so her appearance is no longer a mystery haha. **

**Aria: Oh shit, there's a plot? :o But seriously, I'm super glad you like it! :3 And I think I foresee some interesting things going on in the future featuring everyone's favorite sadomasochist! xD**


	8. Or the Lack Thereof

~Raina's Point of View~

Roughly an hour of scrubbing later, I was at last, clean. With the dirt and grime from fighting and simply surviving removed, I looked in the mirror, and was frighteningly pale without it. Gross. The darkening circles beneath my eyes couldn't be scrubbed away, and neither could the little bruising that remained on my cheek- but no matter, they were quickly hidden with my cloaking technique. I let the majority of my scars remain visible this time, saving myself the extra chakra by only hiding my recent blemishes, ears, tail, and the heap of scar-tissue that was my back. Once fully dressed, barely any of my skin would show, aside from my face and elbows. Still in view were what had become my trademark scrape across the bridge of my nose, which was now accompanied by a gash that went from my left brow to beneath my right eye- the path the blade had taken just scarcely missing my left eye socket. That had come from an early attempt from Hanzō to steal my Yaseigan- he lost two good henchmen that day. I looked through several scrolls, quietly searching my sealed belongings until finding the one I needed- my old equipment and clothing. If I were to be back in this shit-stain on a map called Amegakure, I may as well look the part. I took one of several bandage rolls, carefully wrapping from the arches of my feet up to my knees, another around my chest to cover the sealing scar, and the last on both my arms, from my palms up to my elbows. I slipped into my long-necked mesh armor undershirt, a cut-off, pale blue tank going over that, and last a dark navy Ame flak jacket- with the crest of my clan embroidered in white on the breast. My pants were standard issue, simple black things, I tucked them into the wraps on my legs. I set about getting my pouches in place on each thigh, kunai and shuriken on the right, battle scrolls and smoke bombs on the left. Regular scrolls and extra weapons were tucked into my travel pouch, along with an assortment of pills, a miniscule amount of ryo, and minor first aid necessities, were strapped to my belt and hung at the back of my right side, the pouches on my jacket stocked as well. I was pleased to see that said jacket still fit- though this one was supposed to fit on me in wolf form when I was younger, my proper human one was incredibly small in comparison. I quietly pondered the functionality of pockets on clothing fit to an animal with no thumbs, as well as the fact that I hadn't so much grown up than out of my human one. Feeling a little self-conscious, I tied my Amegakure headband around my neck, and glanced sadly at my Konoha one, mulling over the pros and cons of it for a few moments before securing it back around my thigh with a snort. If Pein took issue with it, he could get over it- Konoha was home to me.

Beneath what had been the pile of clothing sat the heap of metal plates and blades that were my claw guards, the insidious half-gauntlets that had been made just for me, a "gift" from my ever fearless, former leader, Hanzō. After a moment's contemplation, I shrugged at them, snapping the thick, shackle-like bands above each ankle and wrist, and placing each set of plates, mesh, and blades by their appropriate hand or foot. If I were to be living in this lion's den- I'd best to be armed to the teeth. I channeled my chakra into each shackle, and the guards flew into place on each finger and toe- the jointed plates protected my fingers, the tips of each guard were a hollowed-out blade, giving almost an extra two inches of range to my claws. There were four small switchblades mounted atop my knuckles, raised above the plating to block incoming attacks as well as deal additional damage. They were far from being intricate- and though their build was streamlined, the metal contraption only served to look more terrifying. I lifted a steel-clad hand to eye level- smiling to see the edges were still sharp. I would have to see if my poison collection was still intact- every little thing added to my arsenal would help. A flick of my wrist and a pulse of chakra disengaged the claws, allowing my finger tips to slip free of their daggers and the switchblades to lay sharp-side up on the back of each hand and foot, making them look only vaguely inconspicuous. In my defense- the standard Ame equipment looked much more awkward; all baggy and creepy with oxygen tanks and rebreathers- I blatantly refused to wear mine for this particular reason.

I took a few more moments to comb through the mess that was my hair, taming it down into its usual side part and flip, leaving the rest down. I'd given up on parting my hair any other way- I had a conveniently permanent one courtesy of a cut that had started on my forehead and ran up to the edge of my scalp. The giver of said cut had lost the hand he'd inflicted it with, as per my teeth. I repacked my supplies and scrolls, tucking them safely into my pack before going back into Itachi's room, feeling pleasantly refreshed. I met the Uchiha's gaze, and he was staring at me as if I had three heads, frowning, I looked over myself as well. Nope... No additional heads, arms, or other such appendages, what gives? I noticed his attention focused on my left thigh, where my Leaf headband was secured. I blinked at him, noticing the brazen slash through the symbol of our village on his forehead. Right. I flicked my wrist and activated one of the gauntlets, blades snapping back into place- I swiped one across the metal plate on my thigh, feeling a pang of sadness for the now tarnished leaf. Holding the one around my neck in place, I matched the previous action, a long gash crossing over the four lines of Rain- there was no remorse in the action. I glanced back up at the Uchiha, smirking.

"That better for you, Uchiha?" I sneered at him, his eyes darkened. He'd already made it clear that our friendship had died with his clan- we were now enemies of the worst sort. Whether it saddened me or not, there was a code I kept to when dealing with enemies. Bitch mode activated. Houkou growled in approval, cackling darkly.

"Hn." He snorted, a man of so many words. I rolled my eyes at him, turning towards the main door and setting a hand on the knob with a clink. "Where do you think you're going?" He took a step towards me, his tone was sharp.

"To find food?" I snipped, my stomach doing all the growling for me. He narrowed his eyes, body relaxing ever so slightly; I gave a mental sigh of relief. I grasped the doorknob and turned-only to receive the entirely unwelcome surprise of being electrocuted. I was stuck in place, tremors running up my arm from the shock as it forced my muscles to convulse- a larger burst of electricity finally breaking what had turned into a death grip I had on the handle. My arm was spasming while I spat curses left and right, clutching at my burned and twitching hand. I shot a glare to the Uchiha- whose face was infuriatingly stoic. I _hated_ all things lightning, _especially_ its derived form of pain. He held his hands up in mock-innocence when my pupils constricted to mere pinpoints of black on amber, my fingers trembling as the blades flicked into place- he took a step back. "Remove the seal, or I remove the door." I snapped at him.

"….I think not." He smirked, crossing his arms over his chest "Give it your best shot, mutt." He was egging me on, and oh, it was working. He knew just how terrible my chakra control was- he'd been the one to teach me what little control I had now. I'd only managed my cloaking jutsu due to the repeated, and often brutal lessons I'd received from my 'weapon training' after the sealing- you can't have a little girl with wolf ears and a tail scurrying around the city- it's the polar opposite of intimidating. Feeling irate, I sat myself on the floor, legs crossed as I took a moment to meditate- water against electricity wouldn't work, and I sure as hell wasn't making physical contact with that seal- I needed help. The Uchiha frowned slightly, sparing me a questioning glance while I receded within myself.

~Within Raina's Subconscious~

I walked through the dark caves of my mind, finding myself in a great cavern, nine paper sealing strips hung from a thick rope suspended over a gaping hole in the ground, a number of torches blazed from the cavern walls, the flickering light and numerous shadows setting me on edge. 'Hou?' I called to the demon, only slightly relieved at the clinking of heavy chains as she poked her head out from the dark pit the seal confined her to. 'I need your help.' She sneered, climbing from the darkness to sit before me, massive head bent down to my level. An impossibly thick iron collar was snapped around her throat and shackles at each of her feet- the chains welded onto each of her restraints lead back down to the pit where she was typically confined. I was roughly the same height as her eyeball, the glittering red orb gleaming down at me.

'What brings you here, child? You rarely seek me willingly.' Her voice was like the tinkering of bells- deceptively small and motherly and it made me tremble, raising the hairs on the back of my neck as her lips pulled back to reveal enormous fangs. Her chakra was a dark and powerful one, clouding the atmosphere with an air of fear- visible as a strange pale mist, reflecting every color in the cavern. It was beyond suffocating- I sighed and took a steadying breath, clenching my fists. I could not give in so easily. It was so unnerving when she called me child- but to her, all of my clan had become like her children- though we were closer to pets from her description in one of her many history lectures.

'We're bound in here by a sealed door- I need you to get us out.' I raised my trembling hand for her inspection, my skin burned and angry around the gauntlet where it had touched metal. The huge pupil constricted, observing my hand, all the air in the cavern stirring as she sniffed it, giving a snort when she had finished- I felt the pain lessening as she forced her chakra into it.

'A lightning natured seal, hm? I think it's time that you awoke your second nature, child.' She sat up as much as the cave would allow, raising a large paw to press a single claw against my stomach, sending a burning shock of chakra into my system. I stumbled back, gasping for air as our energies mixed, feeling another sensation beside the usual push and pull of my water natured chakra, something that swirled and directed the water into a maelstrom. When the burning sensation had settled, I glanced back at her, breathing a little too heavily for comfort, she only nodded, gesturing at my hands, lips tugged back in a smug grin. I raised them in front of me, gathering energy into each palm- an orb of swirling water appeared in one, a much smaller orb forming in the other- the chakra taking shape into small, rushing currents of wind.

'Wind? Is this..' I questioned, staring at the air currents circulating in my palm, glancing up at the bijuu curiously. Was she sharing with me?

'It is yours, Shirane.' She rumbled, smirking at me, waving a dismissive tail at me when I opened my mouth to speak. 'Hush, I will teach you how to properly wield your elements. I will not have my host shaming me with inexperience.' She spoke haughtily; she was always a vain beast- even more so than Kyuubi. She raised the two centermost of her tails, the dark stripe that ran horizontally across their tops blazing a pale gray before the tips themselves turned into tamed, miniature cyclones. 'Now then.. Prepare a water bullet, we shall put Gyuki and his brat to shame.' She snickered, lowering herself into a crouch and lashing the two cyclones, meaning to hit something with them.

'Gyuki?' I glanced at her quizzically, she'd never mentioned them before.

'The Hachibi?' She snorted, raising a brow at me as if I were an idiot.

'Oi, you never told me you had proper names!' I shouted, indignantly pouting at her. For having this beast sealed inside me for twelve years, she really hadn't talked much about herself- only offering the smallest bits of advice and healing me when our collective life was threatened. And the bickering. Always bickering. I stamped my foot when she groaned, and quickly charged up to the massive wolf, childish as can be. 'What is yours then, Hou?' I asked, scrambling up to stand atop her nose. The massive eyes rolled, a sigh coming from the demon.

'I told you not long ago, fool.' Her lips curled into a frown, brows furrowed over disapproving ruby orbs as she looked down her snout at me.

'What, when!' I recalled no such information, which in my defense, was very unlikely for me to recall much at all. I have a _terrible_ memory. We've been over this before. I think…. Right?

'We had just arrived in Konoha, at the time.' She snorted, glaring at me.

'That was nine years ago! I can't even remember if I ate yesterday!' I huffed and plopped down to sit on her nose, she deadpanned with a low groan. 'So spit it out, since you're going to be my sensei now~' I sang, idly petting at her muzzle, her fur was surprisingly soft. More surprising, she was allowing 'physical' contact. This was new. Admittedly worrisome, but new. Normally she would just snort and send me flying… Then again, "normally" often involved a life threatening situation for me to actually come here on my own. Maybe we actually could get along, it's not like either of us had much in the way of company. She had remained silent and practically dormant through the near decade I had spent in Konoha, only giving snide remarks and the bare minimum of help- we couldn't have anyone knowing the Land of Fire had another jinchuriki in its grasp. I jumped slightly as she chuckled, the foreign sound making the cave shake.

'Keimyō.' She said through her laughter, tilting her nose downward and forcing me to roll off. 'Now, about that water bullet?' The bijuu huffed, resuming her previous stance, tails waving at the ready.

~Back in Reality~

I smirked, eyes snapping open as I came to, rolling up to my feet and planting them squarely apart, standing several paces back from the offending door. Inhaling deeply, I began kneading chakra in my stomach, chuckling when the bijuu requested I put some more oomph into it- I was happy to oblige her. As I prepared, I noticed Itachi seemed to be a bit on edge, glaring fiercely with his sharingan- I sneered at him, my hands taking the seal of the tiger. His expression was _priceless_. My cheeks bulged with water, and at Ho- er, _Keimyō-senpai's _signal, I sent it flying towards the door in a concentrated ball- and was shocked when I felt the breath knocked out of me, the water bullet became practically invisible in the second it took for it to connect with, and rip through the door- leaving a small crater in the stone wall of the hallway. I felt my lips tug up in a smile, almost giddy with the destruction we'd wrought. The door proceeded to creak miserably before falling into a heap of splinters in the frame. I struggled to bite back a crack of laughter.

'You _have_ to teach me how to do that.' I thought quietly, still stunned from the damage. I'd never been the best at ninjutsu, only average really. I had the chakra, but not the control needed for it- between my minimal attention span and the nine-point seal disrupting the flow, I was always at a disadvantage. There was a bubbling of new-found respect for the demon inside me, and it seemed to further boost her ego- the start of a much brighter, and possibly productive relationship was forming.

'In due time, child.' She snickered, peeking out from her 'little' pit. 'These men seem to respect strength. I will not be shamed due to your lack of it.' I knew she was pleased, despite her words.

I grinned, stepping through the empty door frame, nudging at the heap of sawdust and splinters with my foot and casually strolling down the hall, leaving a stunned and fuming Uchiha behind in his room. I retraced my steps from when I'd been assigned to Sasori's room, eventually finding myself in the lounge. I noticed a few couches surrounding a low coffee table, several book cases lined the wall they faced, a radio and small television set sitting on one of the middle shelves, surrounded by books, scrolls, and a few odd nick-nacks. Before I could examine one of the more shiny objects, my attention was whisked away by the tantalizing aroma of food- my stomach gurgled irritably. Oh, right. Food. I broke a door down for food. Sadly, there are very few things I _wouldn't_ do for food.

My nose led me deeper into this maze they called a hideout, eventually finding myself in a fairly modern kitchen- the alluring scent I had followed seemed to be from a steaming bowl of ramen, which was steadily disappearing into the face-hole of Deidara. I tried not to stare, honestly, but in the effort to do so, I had forgotten to not drool, earning myself a smug look from the self-proclaimed artist. I quickly shook my head, setting my attention on finding something, anything that was, or could be made to be edible. Unfortunately, this task as not as simple as you'd think- mainly because of yet another major flaw of my kekkei genkai, a painful lack of tolerance for grains and vegetables. Sure, they can taste lovely and often times make up the majority of the average diet, but I can't digest them all that well. I had learned this quickly while growing up- as bread and rice were staples of my diet that only served to give some energy and barely any nutritious content, my growth was severely stunted from the poverty, leaving me at the ever intimidating height of 5'4" at the ripe age of 17. What I really needed, and quite thoroughly enjoyed, was meat, every sort of it... Well, almost every sort. I'd been forced, on several occasions of similar circumstance, to consume human flesh- which actually had many similarities to beef, though it was severely lacking in the flavor department. It was something I personally avoided doing- but when placed under orders, there is little I could do against it. And so with a snarling stomach, I ravaged the contents of the refrigerator, digging through a concerning multitude of spoiled products before unearthing a hunk of some kind of meat wrapped neatly in a butcher's parcel. I lifted it and sniffed deeply, a poor cut of beef chuck roast, and on the verge of spoiling at that. I glanced over at the blonde who was eyeing me curiously, a few noodles hanging limply from his mouth as he was clearly questioning my mental integrity.

"Do you know if this belongs to anyone?" I asked, turning the paper-wrapped parcel over several times, giving it a light toss and a few squeezes- assessing its contents. 'A little over two pounds, mostly fat, cut too close to the chest..' I will admit to being a connoisseur of meat- after my blunders with the Lady Yamanaka and poison, I did some apprenticing with a local butcher, and often brought home a multitude of requested beasts for carving when returning on missions, much to Niku-senpai's excitement. The love of the hunt was definitely not lost on me, despite my general distaste for hunting humans- it is quite the thrill to take down another beast with your own claws and fangs, though I'd had to resort to weapons, couldn't have Konoha knowing they had a functional Shirane in their midst, nope. I did learn some wonderful things from old man Niku though- particularly about muscle groups and where best to stab them, and how to skin and tan just about anything. The latter led to a bad habit of hoarding furs from my meals- but I'd rather not let anything go to waste- especially if it is warm and can be used as a blanket. I'd kept the finest, fuzziest ones for myself, peddling off the others to merchants in Tanzaku for pocket cash. Perhaps I'd start collecting again.. My attention flicked back to Deidara as I heard a loud slurp, he was shaking his head.

"Anything you find in there is fair game, yeah. Unless there's a name on it, hmm?" I felt my mouth water, there was nothing written on the package.

"Wonderful~" I chirped, tossing the meat on the counter and forcibly closing the fridge- most of its contents rebelling against being confined yet again. I set to scrounging through the cabinets for a frying pan, slamming one down on one of the range's burners with a triumphant 'Ha!' I flipped on the burner, tossed the hunk of lightly aged meat into the skillet, and waited. I didn't need any seasonings or oils, just lightly seared and warm was all I needed. A continuation of poor genetic mixing on Keimyō's part, but also a bit of personal preference- I liked my meat rare, though I'd also accept it if it were still twitching and or producing sound. I'd figured out that while bones and muscles could change between wolf and human with relative ease, internal organs didn't have this ability.

This had led to some intriguing results when I'd first fled to Konoha- I'd been examined by no less than a dozen iryō-nin, all of them confounded by my blood and tissue samples, and my vitals especially. Having a constant body temperature of 40 C, immunities to diseases that most humans could contract- and deficiencies to what they should be immune to became quite the hurdle in being accepted. They had called in Inuzuka Tsume to check my samples at one point, hoping the veterinarian and self-proclaimed wolf expert could shed some light on what exactly was, or wasn't wrong with me. She'd recognized my family name and had been quite ecstatic about it, thrilled to be able to examine someone of the fabled wolf-shinobi bloodline. She promptly explained all she knew about my heritage, which in retrospect, wasn't all that much- but had been enough to allow me acceptance into the village and removal from quarantine. It seemed that there were enough stragglers of my clan left after the Incident for there to be medical records in regards to those of strong Shirane heritage having abnormally high body temperatures and immune deficiencies.

Tsume-san had been eager to take me under her wing after that, if not to study me more closely, then to give me my first home in the village. I'd picked up most of my fighting style from the Inuzuka techniques, and though I got along famously with the grouchy Kuromaru, their other animals didn't take to me too kindly. I'd also been introduced to her daughter Hana, and Takeshi, Tsume-san's nephew. The three of us had bred some kind of rivalry between us- though their ninken always ended up cheating against me. Be it four-legged races, tests of endurance, agility courses or scent identification contests, we were always neck-and-neck. I smiled to myself at the memories I'd made with them- we'd been so excited when we were placed into our teams- Takeshi, Satoshi, and I had made friends with one another quickly, and our techniques blended well to make for a solid team. I'd been able to test out of years at the academy by claiming I'd been near graduation in Ame before the war had forced me to flee the country with a herd of other refugees- and luckily that year's graduating class was short one student of being able to make seven three-man squads. I hadn't made the top scores, but they were high enough to be of note to a particularly famed family within the village, and to place me at the forefront of the team, with Satoshi as our calculating center, and Takeshi at the rear with damn near failing scores- lazy bastard.

And yet again I realized- he too, was dead. It had been a week since I had been dragged here on the brink of death, and I was still not entirely convinced I wasn't dead too, and this was just some deranged sort of purgatory. I went down a short mental checklist that proved my theory; Itachi is alive. I've been captured and reclaimed by my home country. Houkou isn't being a bitch. My teammates are dead. Itachi is alive. I am willingly wearing my old equipment. I am a member of an organization of S-class criminals. _Itachi is alive._ I'm dead. I glanced down at the barely cooked meat that was sizzling away in the skillet, the scent of charring flesh grounding me back in the moment. I sighed, rummaging around for a plate and unceremoniously flopping the roast onto it with a resounding splat. Dead or not, I was still hungry.

"Aren't you going to cook that? Eating it raw will make you sick, yeah." I jumped slightly, the nosy blonde hovering over my shoulder had a look of disgust on his rather youthful face, glancing worriedly between myself and the still-red hunk of meat on my plate. I giggled slightly, earning another concerned stare.

"Not entirely human, remember?" I chuckled at him, taking my plate to the table he'd been previously occupying, sitting myself across from his empty bowl. He was quick to sit back down, I noticed he was now moving without the crutch, and favoring his wounded leg a little more subtly. "Your leg is healing well?" I questioned, plucking the heap of not-quite-steak up in my hands and biting into it, ripping off a large chunk with a shake of my head. I didn't chew all that much before swallowing, my stomach finally quieting down as I felt the lump go down my gullet.

"Ah- right. And thanks to Ka-ku-zu-…" He stopped speaking, or perhaps his jaw stopped functioning as it was hanging quite low, his face contorted into what looked like a grimace as he watched me eat, a strange glimmer shone in his blue eyes. I blinked at him, concerned.

"Is… Is there something in my teeth?" I asked quietly, running my tongue over them- searching out the offensive item only to find there was none. "On my face? " There was no answer. "What is it?" Still, silence. "Oi!" He looked around the kitchen before leaning in towards me, whispering intently.

"Do… Do you not have a gag reflex, Shirane-san?" I raised a brow at him, head tilted curiously to the side at his mystified expression and the frightening intensity in his gaze.

"Er.. No? Why?" I frowned at the question and the unsettling gleam in his eye, tearing off another hunk of meat and swallowing it whole. What the hell was he getting at? I flinched as his hands clasped around my wrists, startled by the sudden fervor in his posture, and even more so by the physical contact. I vaguely recalled this man in particular lacked a concept of personal space.

"You must teach me your secret!" He pleaded eagerly, eyes gleaming.

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><p><strong>AN: Extra long chapter, but I really, really had to end it there. With the overwhelming response of one person, I will indeed post some links to concept art on my profile- mainly because I feel like I'm not getting some things across in writing because they're so ingrained into my mind after drawing them so much haha! So I'll soon have some sketches of Takeshi, Satoshi &amp; Tenshi for ya, and of KeimyouHoukou as well :3**

**Aria: Then concept art you shall have! owo And I'm sorry I haven't read the next chapter of your AU fic yet, I'm so far behind on everything! ;A; I'm catching up on my reading this week though, totally looking forward to it!**

**And since no one ever really asks questions or reviews aside from the amazing Aria, I figured I may as well put a little clarification section here. Kinda spoiler-y in terms of describing a few things for any that are curious or too impatient to wait for its description in much later chapters.  
><strong>

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><p>What does Houkou mean, if it's not her name?<p>

It translates roughly to howl/howler, thus making her full bijuu "title" Keimyou the Gobi no Houkou, or the five-tailed howler. Keimyou itself means "witty", which I thought was appropriate for her character.

So what the hell even is Raina's Kekkei Genkai?

The yaseigan is the result of a wolf's eye being transplanted into the human body, resulting in something similar to what Jugo's clan suffered from. This will be explained in further detail in later chapters!

There is no backstory in this at all, what the hell are you doing?

I have no idea, but there is backstory, somewhere. I promise I'll introduce it soon!

Your writing style is awful, please stop?

I know, too bad! :D


	9. Mission

_"__You must teach me your secret!" He pleaded eagerly, eyes gleaming.  
><em>

"Pf-p-pardon?!" I blinked back my shock at this request, sputtering for some form of intelligent answer before he released my hands, waving off my attempts at speech.

His voice was oddly hopeful as his hands retreated, digging into his cloak. "You see, I've been trying to train my actual mouth to knead clay as well, yeah? But I keep choking on it, it's unbelievable, hmm!" He produced three wads of white clay from what I assumed to be pouches in his cloak, setting one on the table and rolling it towards me, another disappearing into the mouth on his palm, which he held up for my inspection. "So normally, I just knead the clay like this, hm. And infuse it with my chakra while it chews- but if I were disarmed or immobilized, what good would they do me, hm? I think if I kept some in my mouth, it would be like a failsafe!" I nodded slightly, transfixed and mildly unnerved as I watched the mouth in his palm gnawing on the clay, the tongue was especially grotesque.

Mindlessly ripping off another chunk of meat, and not so much chewing it as just idly squishing it with my teeth, I watched the struggles of the blonde before me. He took the third wad of clay and tossed it into his mouth, cheeks puffing out here and there as he tried to accommodate the clay and attempt to weave chakra evenly into it all at once- having mild success before violently gagging and hacking up a heap of wet clay, his tongue coated in white residue. Was it really that difficult? I frowned and gulped down what was in my mouth before picking up the little ball of clay he'd rolled to me, giving it a tentative sniff. It didn't smell bad... Just like normal clay. And Deidara. And now that I thought about it, there was an interesting, dusty scent to him- like crushed stone, a hint of leather, and…Lavender? I frowned slightly- a hair product, maybe? Shrugging it off, I popped the clay into my mouth- the taste was not unlike that of a food pill. I tried to mimic the motions his palm-mouth had made, folding chakra into the clay with my tongue and pinching with my teeth, spitting out the white mess of wet dirt into my hand a moment later- I had no idea how his hands managed to make it into neat little balls. The artist looked stunned, and promptly began chewing another wad of clay.

We spent quite some time doing this- me learning how to infuse clay with my newly acquired wind chakra so they would pop cutely rather than explode, and Deidara learning how to suppress his gag reflex- finding ourselves laughing and sputtering out dribbles of white saliva from messing with the clay. I confirmed that my lack of said reflex came from not having a uvula like a proper human being, which garnered some concern from the artist- this led to talks on our respective physiologies, particularly about his hands and just how much they were capable of. I was admittedly morbidly curious, and even slightly jealous after that conversation. Needless to say, I was quick to get along with him- his personality was the most agreeable of the lot that I'd met thus far. We chatted idly about his art, and I learned how to sculpt a tiny spider- though mine looked more like a rock compared to the artist's- and I told him my views on art, though he claimed I was just like Sasori in saying beauty should be preserved for eternity. However, we did agree that the aforementioned party was an insurmountable asshole. The talking and company seemed to be mutually appreciated, and friendship was quick to bloom from it- something I was unwittingly grateful for. He'd begun to explain the finer details of sculpting when our antics were rudely interrupted when a pair of hands slammed down on the table, and a booming voice started chortling none too quietly.

"Looks like the bitch has talent! Maybe we'll have some fun with her before I sacrifice her to Jashin- isn't that right Deidara?" It was the loudmouth from a few days prior, his pale hair was slicked back along his scalp, a pair of vibrant magenta eyes assessing my face, taking particular notice of the smudges of white residue on the table and Deidara's cloak sleeves. A lecherous grin spread across his lips. "Well _pet_, what do you say? Let's see what that pretty little mouth can do." He smirked, leaning in towards me- not noticing the horrified stare he was receiving from the blonde.

I scowled quietly, contemplating just what to say to this… Pig. Purple and golden irises were locked in contest, two pairs of silver brows furrowing deeply at one another. He was the first to try and speak again, and before I could reconsider the action; I had spat the clay I'd been chewing at his smirking, swinish face. Now, to say he was offended would be a mighty understatement- it was more along the lines that he was prepared to end something. Yeah, that's a good way to put it- I had a sinking suspicion that the thing he'd be ending was me. The heathen was quick to grab me by the collar of my flack jacket, easily dragging me off and up from my seat, my feet left dangling more than a foot in the air- our staring contest quickly resumed, my suspicions confirmed.

I was at a severe disadvantage of size- he was over a head taller than me and clearly more muscular, which I discovered as I was well over his eye level- his grip on my jacket steadily shifting closer to my throat. Now, in my defense- he started growling first, it's not my fault mine sounded more threatening. He was also the first to hesitate, and our roles were promptly reversed. I took the brief opportunity his surprise granted to slam my knee into his chest- leaving him winded, and thus dumping me onto the floor. Graceful as always, I landed flat on my ass with an undignified squawk, and a possibly bruised tailbone. I could feel the shame radiating from Keimyō as I gingerly rubbed at my aching behind, grumbling quietly at the brute who was now coughing rather desperately to catch his breath. I really wished I hadn't made eye contact with him then- a dreadful mistake. With a gargled battle cry he half stumbled, half charged at me across the kitchen floor. He collided into me and attempted to get me into a stranglehold- leading to a tangled mess of biting, punching, kicking, and the shouting of unintelligible things with the occasional cries of "Jashin" and "divine punishment." He pulled my hair, I bit his arm, he punched, I kicked, and our wrestling match went on this way for much longer than I would've liked. My claws were aimed for his throat by the time we were forcefully broken apart, both of us now bound by chakra-infused black cording.

"Hidan- what did I _tell_ you about wasting my _time_?" Came a deep tenor growl from yet _another_ mountain of a man- where was Pein finding these brutes? I scowled slightly seeing my assailant quickly change his attitude- all but turning belly-up for the newcomer.

"Ahaha..ha… Heyy Kakuzu! I-I was _just_ telling little uh, what's 'er face here about the uh, mission, yeah!" He babbled, hands raised defensively in front of him- the masked man, Kakuzu's, jade and scarlet eyes narrowed in irritation before the black cords withdrew from us and receded into his body. I felt my skin crawl.

'_Ew.'_ Was all that crossed my mind, face still stuck in a scowl as I glanced between the two men I was supposed to.. Wait- "Mission?" I quipped, shooting a hard glare at Hidan. I wasn't going _anywhere_ with that pig. Kakuzu groaned and in one fluid motion, had slammed the briefcase he was apparently carrying across the back of Hidan's head, earning a wail of protest and splurge of profanity from the silver swine. He was silenced by a purposeful cough from his attacker.

"Yes.. We've been assigned a bounty to hunt, we're heading to Kiri." I felt like a stone had just been dropped into my heart. I was supposed to have been in Kiri over a week ago. With my team, guarding one of the Daimyo of Mizu from whoever he had irritated in the Mists. Konoha would have been alerted that we had not arrived- a search party would have been sent. Had they found Satoshi and Takeshi? Were they looking for me? _Would_ they look for me? The color had drained from my face as my mind raced- horrified at the unwelcome reminder.

"Oi, are you listening? Hey!" I flinched as Hidan was now squatting in front of me, a heavy hand slapped onto my shoulder. His eyes narrowed as I quickly swatted his hand away, rolling onto my feet and attempting to gather myself. Mindlessly brushing off my arm wraps and ensuring none of my equipment had fallen from my pockets during the scuffle, I only half caught the wad of dark fabric that was flung at me, and stared at it dumbly for a moment until pig-san spoke yet again. "Best put it on,_ pet_. It's winter in the Land of Waves." He quipped before turning on his heel and following Kakuzu from the kitchen, glancing back over his shoulder to bark, "And hurry it up, will ya? We're running late, thanks to you." I didn't need to see his face to know it was smirking- his snort at the end of the comment was more than enough for that.

I turned to say my farewells to Dei, who, surprisingly, had sat quietly through the whole encounter with a knowing grin pulling at his lips. He startled me with a light, one-armed hug as he stood from the table, chuckling slightly at my now flushed cheeks. "Be careful out there, yeah? Good luck with the zombie combo, hm." My mood felt suddenly lightened from its depressed stupor- his smile was warm and his tone kind-something that was alien to me. I gave him a playful jab on the chest and a chirped 'thank you', before turning to make my leave- hearing the swine bellowing yet again. "You're gonna need it, hm!" He chuckled and offered a wave as I made my way out- following the scent of pig-san to ensure I didn't get lost. I unfolded and examined the heap of clothing I'd been tossed earlier- a grimace taking over for the smile Dei had managed to slap on my face. Great. My very own oversized, terrible black and scarlet cloak. With a quiet groan I shrugged the thing on-only to grumble irritably upon noticing that the sleeves were impossibly long, and the hem went past my feet to drag behind me. Keimyō snorted at my so called "insolence" as I continued grumbling about the cloak- though I will say it was quite warm, and was almost as comfortable as fur. Almost.

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><p><strong>AN: This chapter is terribly short- I'm so sorry I haven't updated in weeks ;w; The holidays were super hectic for my family, and I've also been trying to sort out some kind of plot for this to follow. Thus far, I've plotted out some major events to carry things up to Shippuden, and I have the beginnings of a part two as well. That being said, I will be ending this story at Shippuden and posting part 2 separately, so I can come back and rewrite Crimson Tears in a way that isn't so crappy <strong>

**In other news- I've updated my profile with new character art & some concept pages! Including Rai's Konoha teammates, her casual wear, wolf form, a general timeline of growth, and some height comparisons.**

**Aria: There's some more up now, though only 2 are finished nicely xD It was too great an opportunity to not end it at that point haha xD I thought you'd appreciate it 3**


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